Father, son and insurance company ordered by court to pay BD6,000 to motorcycle crash victim

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

A court has ordered a young man, his father, and an insurance company to jointly pay BD6,000 in damages to a motorcyclist left with lasting injuries after a crash, ruling that the car’s owner shares responsibility for allowing his son to drive it.

The driver, in his twenties, had already been convicted of reckless driving.

Lawyer Hamid Al Sammak said his client was injured in a collision on Shaikh Hamad Avenue when the second defendant — behind the wheel of his father’s vehicle — crashed into him.

The impact sent the motorbike tumbling, leaving its rider with multiple injuries that required ambulance transport to Salmaniya Medical Complex.

The young man was later charged in the Lower Criminal Court and found guilty of endangering the victim’s safety by driving without due care, causing property damage, and failing to take proper precautions.

Seeking compensation, the victim’s lawyer took the case to the High Civil Court, arguing that the crash left his client with lasting damage, including a 10 per cent disability.

A medical report confirmed injuries to his right shoulder, a fractured collarbone, and a 10cm scar.

The father and son contested their inclusion in the lawsuit, but the court ruled otherwise.

Damages

It pointed to Article 158 of the Civil Code, which allows victims to seek damages from those responsible for an accident.

It also cited Article 175, which holds a vehicle’s owner liable as its legal custodian.

The court further ruled that the insurance provider was also responsible for covering damages under Bahrain’s compulsory insurance law.

Criminal case

In its verdict, the court noted that the criminal case had already established the second defendant’s fault, which could not be reconsidered in civil proceedings.

“The criminal judgment found the defendant guilty in his presence, and with no appeal lodged within the legal timeframe, the ruling stands. The act that led to the conviction is the same one that caused the claimant’s injuries and forms the basis of this civil suit. The criminal verdict, therefore, carries full legal weight here, and this court is bound by its findings.”