Jordanian Court Rejects $2,100 Cosmetic Surgery Compensation in Insult Case

A Jordanian appellate court in Amman issued a ruling on Saturday overturning part of an earlier compensation order in a high-profile workplace insult case. The dispute centered on a female employee who filed suit after receiving repeated offensive telephone calls from a man who referred to her as “the spinster” — “al-3anis” — while contacting her employer’s office.

The incident began when a call came into the woman’s company. A female staff member answered and was met with the caller’s mocking question: “Where is the spinster?” He later placed additional calls. The exchanges triggered a severe psychological crisis for the employee, prompting episodes of crying and social withdrawal from colleagues.

In response, she underwent cosmetic surgery — specifically an upper eyelid and eyebrow lift — and subsequently sued the caller for damages. Her claim sought financial redress for psychological injury and demanded he cover the full cost of the procedure, arguing it was a direct consequence of the verbal abuse.

What the lower court ruled

An Amman Magistrate’s Court had previously ordered the defendant to pay 2,550 Jordanian dinars in total compensation. That sum included 1,500 dinars designated specifically for the cosmetic surgery and 1,050 dinars awarded for non-material, psychological harm.

Why the appeals court reversed part of the award

The Amman Court of First Instance, sitting in its appellate capacity, rejected the causal link between the phone insult and the surgical procedure. In its written decision dated Saturday, the presiding judge emphasized that awarding material compensation requires proof of a “direct causal relationship” between the harmful act and the claimed expense.

The court noted that the medical reports submitted by the plaintiff contained no expert clinical opinion stating that the cosmetic surgery constituted medically necessary treatment for harm caused by the telephone call. It further held that non-specialist testimonies were insufficient to establish such causation.

The final compensation order

Based on those findings, the appellate court annulled the 1,500-dinar portion of the award allocated to the cosmetic procedure in its entirety, citing lack of evidentiary proof. It upheld the remaining 1,050-dinar award for psychological and moral damage, confirming the defendant’s liability for that amount.