What compensation can you claim after a medical error in the UAE?

Do you need a committee report before you can claim compensation?

Yes. The Medical Liability Law says compensation claims arising from medical liability are not accepted until they have been referred to a Medical Liability Committee.¹ The committee decides whether there was an error, how serious it was, each person’s share of it, the link between the error and the harm, and any percentage of disability.¹

Al Tamimi & Company reported that in Judgment No. 377 of 2025, issued on 28 August 2025, the Dubai Court of Cassation held that a complaint to the committee and its final report are a mandatory precondition for any compensation claim based on medical liability.²

Start with a complaint to the health authority that licensed the facility. The complaint finder shows which one, and the committee page explains what it decides.

What can you claim for under the civil law?

Your loss and your lost profit, plus moral harm. The new Civil Transactions Law, Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025, took effect on 1 June 2026.³ It says every act causing harm to another obliges the person who did it to compensate.³

• Compensation is assessed on the loss you suffered and the profit you lost, where that is a natural result of the harmful act (Article 255).³
• Liability includes moral harm. The law names harm to freedom, honour, reputation, social standing or financial status (Article 254).³
• After an incapacity or a death, a spouse and relatives up to the second degree may be awarded compensation for their own moral harm (Article 254).³
• Where several people caused the harm, each is liable for their share, and the court may make them liable equally or jointly. The court may reduce or refuse compensation if your own act contributed to the harm or made it worse (Article 253).³

Keep receipts for treatment and travel, and records of pay you lost, from the day the harm happened.

How can a court pay your compensation?

In cash, unless the court orders otherwise.³ Article 256 also lets the court, on your request, order things restored to how they were or order a specific act as compensation. It may award instalments or a periodic income, with security from the person paying.³ If the damage gets worse you may ask for the amount to be reassessed. If the court cannot fix the amount at judgment, it reserves your right to ask for a reassessment within a period it sets.³

Keep every medical report that shows how your condition changes after the judgment.

Can a form you signed stop you claiming?

A term that removes or reduces liability for harm is void. Article 257 says any condition that exempts someone from, or reduces, liability for a harmful act is void.³

Keep a copy of every consent form and agreement you signed. The consent page explains what you should have been told.

How long do you have to start a court claim?

Three years from the day you knew of the harm and of the person responsible, and never more than 15 years after the harmful act (Article 258).³ If the claim arises from a crime and the criminal case can still proceed after three years, the three years start only when the criminal case ends.³

See every deadline on the time limits page.

Can you get compensation as well as blood money?

The court may award both under the civil law in force since 1 June 2026. Where diya (blood money) or arsh is due, the court may, on the injured party’s request, award compensation for material and moral harm that the diya or arsh does not cover (Article 259).³ The government’s announcement of the law says it “permits the combination of blood money or assessed compensation with additional damages”.⁴ The old law, Article 299, said diya or arsh was not payable in addition to compensation unless the parties agreed.⁵

The blood money page sets out the amount and who can claim.

What have courts awarded people in your position?

Table 1 lists awards reported by newspapers and a law firm.^6,7,8,9,2,10

More rulings, with the reasons courts gave, are on the court awards guide.

Can you hold the hospital liable for its doctor’s error?

Yes, in some cases. Article 266 of the civil law says a principal is liable for harm caused by a subordinate in, or because of, the subordinate’s duty. A subordinate relationship exists where the principal has actual authority to supervise and direct, even if the principal did not choose the person.³

Khaleej Times reported on 28 October 2025 that a Dubai court held a hospital liable for a doctor who was not its employee, because it provided facilities, equipment and nursing staff and referred patients to doctors on its premises. The Court of Cassation upheld the judgment.⁸ In Judgment 377 of 2025, Al Tamimi & Company reported, the Court of Cassation held a medical centre liable where the doctor practised at the centre but operated at a separate hospital.²

The committee decides each person’s share of an error, so name every doctor and facility that treated you in your complaint.

The small print

• Committee report. Article 18 of Federal Decree-Law No. 4 of 2016 sets up the committees and requires referral before a compensation claim is accepted. Article 20 makes a committee report final if no grievance is filed within 30 days of notification. Article 21 says the Higher Committee’s decision is final.¹ Al Tamimi & Company notes that some court rulings have allowed annulment actions against Higher Committee reports as administrative decisions.²
• Civil law articles. Articles 246 (duty to compensate), 253 (several wrongdoers, injured party’s contribution), 254 (moral harm), 255 (loss and lost profit), 256 (form of compensation), 257 (exclusions void), 258 (time limits), 259 (bodily harm, diya and arsh) and 266 (liability for a subordinate).³
• Change of law. The new law entered into force on 1 June 2026 and repealed Federal Law No. 5 of 1985. Article 4(1) says it does not apply retroactively to earlier facts and acts unless the law provides otherwise. Article 6 says new time-limit rules apply to every period not yet completed.³ The old law covered moral damage in Article 293 and the 3-year and 15-year limits in Article 298.⁵
• Judgment 377 of 2025. Al Tamimi & Company reports that the Court of Cassation applied Article 292 of the old law and held that compensation may exceed diya or arsh where the trial court finds the damage warrants it.²