The Dubai Civil Court has ordered a medical center to refund Dh159,000 to a patient after ruling that it failed to perform a surgical procedure despite receiving full payment.
The court cancelled the contract between the parties and directed the facility to repay the amount with 5 percent annual legal interest, calculated from the date the lawsuit was filed until full settlement. It also awarded Dh5,000 in compensation for material and moral damages and ordered the center to shoulder court fees, expenses and legal costs, including lawyer’s fees.
Court records show that an Arab woman filed a civil case seeking to hold the medical center and its manager jointly liable for returning the amount she had transferred in preparation for a surgery agreed upon under a formal contract.
The claimant told the court that the center repeatedly postponed the operation without setting a final date and ultimately failed to carry out the procedure. She argued that the delays deprived her of the use of her funds and caused her to miss the appropriate timing for the surgery, amounting to a breach of contract.
To support her claim, the patient presented bank transfer records confirming full payment, WhatsApp conversations detailing the agreement and acknowledgments of payment, as well as messages informing her of the postponements. She also submitted the center’s commercial license showing it operates as a single-owner limited liability company specializing in day surgeries.
In its ruling, the court said it has the authority to properly characterize claims and apply relevant legal provisions regardless of how litigants frame their requests. It noted that the demand for repayment effectively included a request to terminate the contract.
The court found that while the patient fulfilled her obligation by paying the agreed amount, the medical centre failed to perform its essential duty to conduct the surgery. This breach warranted cancellation of the contract and restoration of both parties to their pre-contractual positions.
The judgment also affirmed that electronic communications are valid written evidence when not disputed by the opposing party. It added that the awarded interest serves as compensation for delayed financial obligations and is computed from the date of judicial claim.
The Dh5,000 compensation covered financial harm from the loss of use of funds and psychological distress caused by the unfulfilled medical procedure.
