Ras Al Khaimah Court tells driver to pay Dh200,000 blood money after girl dies in accident

An argument by the defence lawyer that the victims should share responsibility for causing the accident because they walked in a dark street while dressed in black was dismissed

A court in Ras Al Khaimah found a man guilty of failing to adhere to traffic rules and causing a wrongful death. Antonie Robertson / The National

The Ras Al Khaimah Civil Court has ordered a motorist to pay Dh200,000 blood money to the family of a girl who was killed in a car accident.

The Emirati man was found guilty of causing the accident on the evening of March 22 last year, in the Shaam area of the emirate.

He was driving on an unlit road when he hit a pregnant woman, 20, and her sister and cousin, both 13, who were walking on the roadside.

The Emirati woman was 20 weeks pregnant and lost her unborn child.

Her sister sustained moderate injuries, but the cousin was badly hurt and died in hospital on April 12.

The emirate's criminal court found the man guilty of failing to adhere to traffic rules and causing a wrongful death. He was sentenced to one month in prison, fined Dh10,000 and had his licence suspended for a year.

But the parents of the girl who died also filed a case with Ras Al Khaimah Civil Court requesting Dh200,000 in compensation from the motorist and his insurance company.

The civil court ordered the man to pay Dh200,000 in blood money to the family of the deceased and another Dh20,000 in blood money to the pregnant woman for the loss of her unborn child.

During court hearings, the lawyer representing the insurance company said the victims should share responsibility for causing the accident because they walked in a dark street while dressed in black.

But the court dismissed the argument and last week the judge ordered the driver and his insurer to jointly pay the compensation.