Who pays if you were hurt as a pedestrian or a passenger?

The insurer of the vehicle that hit you, or the vehicle you were riding in, pays for your injury.

Who pays if a car hits you as a pedestrian?

The third party insurer of that car. The unified policy covers bodily injury to a third party “either inside or outside the Motor Vehicle”, including death, permanent disability and temporary disability. Its limit is whatever a court awards, with no upper limit, and the insurer pays your treatment costs directly to the hospital.¹

Call 999, get the police case number, and give the hospital the details of the vehicle that hit you.

Who pays if you were a passenger?

The insurer of the vehicle you were in, and of any other vehicle at fault. The policy covers death or injury to any person “including the Motor Vehicle Passengers”. A person counts as a passenger while inside, getting in or getting out.¹ Where more than one insurer is liable, death and injury compensation is split equally between them, taking each side’s share of the negligence into account.¹

Are there passengers the policy does not fully cover?

Yes. Three groups are treated differently:¹

If you were a passenger travelling for work in your employer’s vehicle, the labour law route applies: the employer pays treatment, wages during treatment and the compensation set by the law.^2,3 See injured at work. If you were the driver, see personal accident insurance.

Can a pedestrian be blamed for the accident?

Yes. Crossing away from a designated place and causing an accident carries prison and a fine of AED 5,000 to AED 10,000, or one of the two. On roads with a limit of 80km/h or more, crossing away from a designated place carries at least three months in prison and a fine of at least AED 10,000, or one of the two.⁴

Drivers carry duties too: they must slow down at a crossing and stop until pedestrians who have started to cross have crossed.⁴ Not giving priority at a pedestrian crossing is a AED 500 fine with 6 black points.⁵

Does your own share of blame reduce your compensation?

It can. The Civil Transactions Law lets a court reduce compensation, or refuse it, if the injured person’s own act helped cause or worsen the harm.⁶ The motor policy says the share of each party’s negligence is taken into account where liability is shared.¹

Keep the police report, witness names and any camera footage that shows where and how you crossed.

How long do you have to claim?

Three years from when you knew of the harm and who was responsible, and never more than 15 years after the accident.⁶ See time limits.

The small print

The definitions of Injured Third Party and Bodily Injury, the family cap (Chapter One, clause 5), injury cover (Chapter Two, clause 1) and the equal split between insurers are in the Unified Motor Vehicle Insurance Policy Against Third Party Liability.¹ Pedestrian offences are Article 39 and the driver’s crossing duty Article 5(1)(f) of Federal Decree-Law 14 of 2024.⁴ Contributory fault is Article 253(2) of Federal Decree-Law 25 of 2025.⁶