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Compensation Claims
Medical Error in Cosmetic Surgery in Dubai: Complaint or Compensation?
If you have suffered a medical error in a cosmetic procedure in Dubai, both routes are open to you, the complaint and the compensation claim, but the order is not a matter of choice. You start with a complaint to the competent health authority, which is put before the Medical Liability Committee, because a compensation claim is not accepted by the court before the matter has been referred to that committee. The committee's report is what determines whether a medical error occurred, how serious it is, and who is responsible for it.
The danger is that many people lose their rights before the dispute even begins. Some sign a settlement with the clinic in return for a corrective session. Some undergo a second operation with another doctor before the harm is documented. Some publish their accusations on social media and turn from injured party into the person complained against. Others believe that being unhappy with how the result looks is enough to obtain compensation, and file a complaint that is bound to fail.
In this article we explain when the result of a cosmetic procedure counts as a medical error, how a complaint proceeds in Dubai, what compensation covers, and where our firm stands with you at each stage. It is part of our series on Compensation Cases in the UAE.
When does the result of a cosmetic procedure count as a medical error?
Not every unsatisfactory result is a medical error. Aesthetic taste differs from one person to another, and every procedure has known effects and complications that can occur even with the best doctors. Under the Medical Liability Law, no liability arises if the harm is one of the recognised medical effects and complications, or was caused by the patient's own act or failure to follow instructions.
A medical error is what a practitioner commits for one of four reasons defined by the law:
Ignorance of technical matters
The doctor does not know what every practitioner of the same grade and specialty is expected to know.
Breach of professional standards
Failure to follow the recognised professional and medical standards for the procedure in question.
Failure to exercise due care
In the examination before the operation, during it, or in the follow-up afterwards.
Negligence and lack of caution
Such as exceeding safe doses or ignoring signs of complications after the procedure.
Deciding between the two is not a matter for the patient's opinion or the doctor's, but for a committee of specialist doctors. That is why the first thing our firm does is read the medical file, to establish whether we are facing an error that can be proved or a result the law does not protect, before the client bears the cost of a route that leads nowhere.
This includes informed consent before the operation. The doctor is obliged to inform the patient of all possible complications in a clear and simple way, as we set out in detail in Medical Malpractice Lawyer in the UAE: When Does Lack of Informed Consent Constitute Medical Error?
Gross medical error in cosmetic procedures and its penalty
The law distinguishes between a medical error and a gross medical error. The first gives rise to compensation and disciplinary accountability; the second adds a criminal penalty. Under the Executive Regulations of the Medical Liability Law, an error is gross if it caused the patient's death, the removal of an organ by mistake, the loss of an organ's function or any other serious harm, and resulted from one of the criteria set by the Regulations, including:
Practising outside the specialty
Deliberately practising outside the scope of the specialty or the clinical privileges that the licence grants to the doctor.
Methods the doctor was not trained in
Using diagnostic or treatment methods that the doctor has not previously performed or been trained in, without medical supervision.
Severe negligence
Such as leaving medical equipment inside the patient's body, giving an overdose of medication, or failing to operate a medical device during or after the operation.
An unrecognised method
Following a method that is not medically recognised, or an unjustified departure from medical standards and rules.
The penalty for a gross medical error is imprisonment for up to one year and a fine of up to AED 200,000, or either of them, rising to imprisonment for up to two years and a fine of up to AED 500,000 if the error resulted in death.
The visiting doctor and the unlicensed centre: the most dangerous cosmetic cases
The most serious cosmetic cases do not begin with a slip of the scalpel, but with a question the patient never asked: is this doctor licensed for this procedure in this facility? Local newspapers have reported a judgment of the civil court in Dubai ordering a cosmetic facility to pay a woman AED 800,000 in compensation for a cosmetic error by a visiting doctor.
A doctor with no licence
The law regulating the practice of human medicine punishes with imprisonment and a fine of AED 200,000 to AED 2,000,000, or either of them, anyone who practises the profession without a licence and does not meet the conditions for obtaining one.
A doctor outside the limits of his licence
A doctor must practise within the limits of the licence granted to him and the licence of the facility where he works, and is prohibited from working beyond his specialty or in a place where he is not licensed.
A facility that employs unlicensed staff
The law on private health facilities prohibits employing an unlicensed doctor, nurse or other health professional. The penalty is imprisonment for not less than six months and a fine of AED 100,000 to AED 1,000,000, or either of them, and the facility may be closed.
A salon offering a medical procedure
The Dubai Health Authority standards for non-surgical cosmetic procedures require them to be provided in a licensed health facility whose licence permits plastic surgery or dermatology, and forbid practitioners from using titles other than those in their licence, such as "cosmetic expert".
Proof of any one of these breaches changes the weight of the whole file, but it requires official verification of the licence as it stood at the time of the operation, not at the time of the complaint. This is what the firm does when it studies the case.
A medical error complaint in Dubai: why does it come before the court?
Because the law made it a condition. Compensation claims arising from medical liability are not accepted until the matter has been referred to and put before the medical liability committees. Even if you file a report with the police or the prosecution, or bring a lawsuit, the court and the Public Prosecution refer the file to the competent health authority to put it before the committee.
In Dubai the complaint is submitted to the Dubai Health Authority if the facility is licensed by it, on paper or electronically. The Regulations require it to be written in Arabic or accompanied by an Arabic translation, to define its subject precisely, and to have the documents attached. It is then referred to the Medical Liability Committee, a committee of specialist doctors that decides:
Whether there was an error and how serious it is
Whether a medical error occurred or not, and whether it is a gross error, stating the criterion relied on.
Who is responsible and in what share
Where more than one party is responsible, such as the surgeon, the anaesthetist and the facility, the committee determines the share of each in the error.
The harm and the causal link
The type of harm, its link to the error, and the percentage of disability in the affected organ, if any.
Drafting the complaint is not a formality. What is not put to the committee is not examined by it, and the report it issues is what the court will later build its judgment on. Our firm therefore prepares the complaint on the basis of the full medical file, and sets out in it the facts and the technical questions the report must answer.
Complaint, criminal report or compensation? Three routes for one event
The same event can open three routes, each with a different aim. Choosing which to start with and which to postpone is a legal decision that should not be taken in anger:
The disciplinary route
Pursued by the health authority against the doctor and the facility, with sanctions that go as far as suspending or cancelling the licence and closing the facility. It gives you no money, but it establishes the breach.
The criminal route
It arises if the report concludes that there was a gross medical error. The law allows a settlement at any stage of the case, which ends the criminal case without affecting the injured party's right to civil compensation.
The civil route
A compensation claim before the civil court after the committee's report has been issued, brought against the doctor and the facility. This is the route that makes good the harm.
The danger of a settlement is that it is usually offered to the injured party at the weakest moment. Signing loosely drafted wording may be read as a waiver of the whole compensation. Do not sign a settlement before your lawyer has reviewed it.
How much is compensation for a medical error in a cosmetic procedure?
There is no compensation table and no fixed amount. Under the Civil Transactions Law, compensation is assessed by the harm the injured party suffered and the earnings lost, provided this is a natural result of the harmful act, and it is the court that assesses it. It covers:
Material harm
The costs of treatment and corrective operations, and income lost through disability or absence from work.
Moral harm
Pain, disfigurement and its psychological and social effect, usually the largest element of the claim in cosmetic cases. It may also be awarded to the spouse and to relatives up to the second degree if the patient is left disabled or dies.
The facility's liability alongside the doctor
The facility is liable for harm caused by its subordinate in the course of, or because of, his duties, and where several parties are liable the court may hold them jointly liable.
Compulsory insurance
The law prohibits practising the profession without insurance against civil liability for medical errors, and the facility must provide it for its practitioners, so that there is a party able to pay the judgment.
Some things reduce compensation. The court may reduce it, or award none, if the injured party contributed by his own act to causing the harm or made it worse, for example by neglecting post-operative instructions. If the insurance company refuses to pay, there is a route for that, which we explained in Why Insurance Companies Deny Claims: Legal Paths for Victims.
Mistakes by the injured party that weaken the case
Relying on the form signed before the operation
Many people believe that signing a form releasing the clinic from liability has ended their right. The law provides that any clause exempting from, or reducing, liability for a harmful act is void. Consent to the procedure is not consent to the error.
A corrective operation before documentation
Having a second operation before the condition is documented with medical reports and images wipes out the evidence, and allows the first doctor to say that the harm was caused by someone else.
Posting on social media
Accusing the doctor or the clinic by name before an official report is issued may expose you to liability yourself, and turn the injured party into the person complained against.
Leaving the medical file with the clinic
You are legally entitled to a detailed medical report and a copy of your medical file, and the facility is obliged to hand them over. Ask for them in writing before the dispute begins.
Waiting
A compensation claim is not heard after three years from the day the injured party learned of the harm and of the person responsible. These time limits are explained in Statute of Limitations in the UAE: When Do You Lose Your Right to Claim?
A cosmetic medical error before the Dubai Courts: how does our firm work with you?
Medical error cases are won by the file, not by emotion, and each stage builds on the one before it. This is how the work proceeds with us:
Documentation
Gathering the full medical file
We request the medical report and a copy of the file from the facility, gather the consent forms, invoices, correspondence and images from before and after the operation, and verify the licences of the doctor and the facility.
Characterisation
Medical error or expected complications?
We study the case to establish whether the elements of a medical error are present, whether it amounts to a gross error, and who is responsible. We tell the client this conclusion frankly before any step is taken. For the general framework of patients' rights, see What UAE Law Guarantees for Victims of Medical Errors.
Complaint
A precise complaint before the health authority
We draft the complaint and attach its documents, follow it before the Medical Liability Committee, and prepare the client for what may be asked of him.
Grievance
Reviewing the report within its time limit
We study the committee's report as soon as it is issued, and if it is incomplete or contradicts the file we file the grievance before the Higher Committee within the prescribed period.
Litigation
The compensation claim and enforcement
We bring the compensation claim against the doctor and the facility, build the claim on the elements of material and moral harm, and follow enforcement against the judgment debtors and the insurance company.
Time limits and figures in medical error cases
30 days
The period for a grievance against the Medical Liability Committee's report, from the date of notification
3 years
The period after which a compensation claim is not heard, from the day of learning of the harm and of the person responsible
15 years
The absolute limit for hearing a compensation claim in all cases, from the day the harmful act occurred
1 year and AED 200,000
The maximum imprisonment and fine for a gross medical error
2 years and AED 500,000
The maximum imprisonment and fine if the gross medical error resulted in death
Before you act: what do we review with you?
What did you sign?
The consent before the operation, and any settlement or waiver offered to you afterwards. A single signature can change the course of the case.
Do you hold your medical file?
The detailed report and the copy of the file are the basis of the complaint, and asking for them early prevents them from being altered later.
Who actually performed the operation?
The doctor's name as it appears in the licence, his specialty, and whether he was licensed to work in that facility on the day of the operation.
What harm can be proved?
A report from another specialist doctor on the present condition, before any corrective procedure, preserves the evidence.
Where do we stand on the time limits?
The date of the operation, the date you learned of the harm, and the date of notification of the committee's report, if issued.
Legal references
Federal Decree-Law No. 4 of 2016 on Medical Liability, as amended
Cabinet Decision No. 40 of 2019 on the Executive Regulations of Federal Decree-Law No. 4 of 2016
Federal Law No. 5 of 2019 regulating the Practice of the Human Medicine Profession
Federal Law No. 4 of 2015 on Private Health Facilities, as amended
Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025 issuing the Civil Transactions Law
Dubai Law No. 6 of 2018 on the Dubai Health Authority
Dubai Health Authority Standards for Non-Surgical Cosmetic Procedures
Frequently asked questions about medical errors in cosmetic procedures
Medical malpractice lawyer in Dubai
AWADH ALMHEIRI LAW FIRM AND LEGAL CONSULTATIONS is registered in Dubai and with the Ministry of Justice, and handles medical error cases in cosmetic procedures from the complaint before the Dubai Health Authority and the grievance against the Medical Liability Committee's report to the medical error compensation claim before the Dubai Courts and enforcement of the judgment. To learn about our services: Law Firm in Dubai: Comprehensive Legal Services for Individuals and Companies.
The other emirates
The Medical Liability Law is federal and applies in every emirate, while the authority that receives the complaint differs: the Department of Health in Abu Dhabi, and the Ministry of Health and Prevention and the local health authorities in Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah. The firm handles medical error complaints and compensation claims before these authorities and their courts.
