When a family member dies after medical treatment

A family can complain to the health authority, which refers the case to a Medical Liability Committee. Courts do not accept a compensation claim until that referral has happened.¹

Who in your family can make the complaint?

A close relative, with proof of the relationship. The rules differ by authority.

• Department of Health Abu Dhabi (DoH): a first-degree relative can file for a deceased patient by attaching the death certificate. Anyone else needs a power of attorney.² DoH says these legal documents must be attached for the complaint to be accepted and for the outcome to be disclosed.³
• Emirates Health Services (EHS): the patient’s parents, first-degree relatives, or a person appointed by the patient or the family, with ID proving the relationship.⁴
• Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP): if the patient cannot complain, the patient’s guardian, a family member or a person holding power of attorney. MOHAP says a complainant must be an adult over 21.⁵
• Dubai Health Authority (DHA): the service is for patients or care givers.⁶ The service page does not say what a family needs after a death. Ask DHA.

Agree within the family who will file, and get that person’s documents ready before the time limit runs short.

Can you get your relative’s medical records?

Ask the facility. Federal Law No. 5 of 2019 says the medical report or a copy of the file is given on request by the patient, the patient’s custodian, guardian, trustee or legal agent.⁷ It does not name heirs or family members.

Ask the facility in writing what it needs from you to release the file, and use the medical records request tool to draft the letter.

How much is blood money, and can your family claim more?

Diya for manslaughter is AED 200,000, the same for a man or a woman. The Cabinet may raise or lower it.⁸

The civil law changed on 1 June 2026. The new Civil Transactions Law lets a court, on request, award compensation for material and moral harm that diya does not cover.⁹ The old law said diya was not payable in addition to compensation unless the parties agreed.¹⁰

Read blood money before you decide what to ask the court for.

Who in your family can claim for moral harm?

Spouses and relatives up to the second degree. The Civil Transactions Law in force from 1 June 2026 lets a court award them compensation for moral harm caused by a death.⁹ The old law allowed compensation for moral harm to a spouse or relatives of the family caused by the death.¹⁰ Compensation is assessed on the loss suffered and the lost profit.⁹

A right to compensation for moral harm cannot pass to someone else unless its value has been fixed by agreement or a final judgment.⁹

Read compensation for what a claim can include.

Can the doctor face criminal charges over your relative’s death?

The medical liability law sets criminal penalties for a gross medical error. No practitioner may be investigated, arrested or held because of a complaint until the final medical report confirms a gross error.¹ A gross error that causes death carries up to two years in prison, a fine of up to AED 500,000, or both.¹

The heirs may ask for reconciliation before the health authority or the Public Prosecution, at any stage and even after a final judgment. Reconciliation ends the criminal action. It does not affect the right to claim compensation in the civil courts.¹

Read criminal complaints before you decide whether to seek reconciliation.

How long does your family have?

Three years to complain to DHA, DoH or EHS.^6,3,4 Thirty days to appeal a committee report after you are legally notified of it.¹

A court claim under the new civil law must be brought within three years of knowing of the damage and who caused it, and no later than 15 years after the act. Where the claim arises from a crime and the criminal case can still be brought after the three years, the period starts when the criminal case ends.⁹

Enter your dates in the complaint deadlines tool.

What have courts awarded families like yours?

Between AED 200,000 and Dh2 million in the cases in Table 1, each as reported in the press.^{11,12,13,14,15}

In the childbirth case, the four doctors had first been convicted of gross negligence in a criminal court, fined Dh50,000 each and ordered to pay diya to the heirs.¹¹ In the intensive care case, the court said the award covered the loss of the family’s main earner and the distress of the widow and children.¹²

See court awards for every reported case and what was claimed.

The small print

Diya is set in Article 30 of the Crimes and Penalties Law.⁸ Moral harm for spouses and relatives is Article 254(2) and (3) of Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025, the measure of compensation Article 255, the time limits Article 258, and compensation beyond diya Article 259(2).⁹ The old rules on moral harm and on diya with compensation were Articles 293 and 299 of Federal Law No. 5 of 1985.¹⁰ The rule on investigation and arrest is Article 24 of Federal Decree-Law No. 4 of 2016, the criminal penalties Article 34, reconciliation Article 35, and the 30-day grievance period Article 20.¹ The right to a medical report and copy of the file is Article 22 of Federal Law No. 5 of 2019.⁷

The DoH limit runs from the date of the error or its discovery, the DHA limit from the date of the event, and the EHS limit from the incident.^3,6,4 MOHAP’s page does not set a time limit.⁵