Man dies 2 yrs after accident; tribunal awards Rs 31 lakh compensation to kin

Thane, Nov 12 (PTI) The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Thane has awarded a compensation of Rs 31 lakh to the family of a carpenter who died in 2020 from injuries suffered when a car hit him other people two years earlier.

MACT member R V Mohite, in the judgment on Tuesday, held the driver of the offending car negligent and directed both its owner and insurer to pay the amount.

The claimants' counsel, SM Pawar, told the tribunal that on August 14, 2018, Manojkumar Shyamnarayan Sharma (38), a carpenter by profession, was walking cautiously on the left side of Upvan-Gandhinagar Road in Maharashtra's Thane city.

A car allegedly driven rashly and at high speed lost control and struck Sharma, two women, and several motorcycles. Sharma was grievously injured and remained bedridden until his death on December 24, 2020.

His wife, elderly parents and two sons, residents of Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, approached the tribunal.

The tribunal rejected the defence argument that the accident was caused by a technical fault or the deceased was negligent. It noted that the man died due to injuries sustained in the accident involving the car.

The MACT said it did not find force in the opponent's evidence that the hand brakes of the offending vehicle were automatically released at the time of the accident, which took place due to a technical defect in the car.

"Removal of hand brakes is not a part of the Standard Operating Procedure for driving...even though the driver is not directly responsible for removing the hand brake, he can still face legal repercussions," it said.

The accident occurred due to "absolute negligence on the part of the driver," and there was no breach of the insurance policy conditions, it observed.

The tribunal accepted medical documentation showing Sharma's prolonged treatment and paraplegia and that he was bedridden till death.

It awarded a compensation of Rs 31,05,235 along with an interest at 9 per cent per annum from the date of the petition till its realisation.

The tribunal directed that the amount be distributed as -- Rs 10,05,235 to the man's wife, with Rs 3 lakh in fixed deposit, Rs 2 lakh each to each parent and Rs 8.5 lakh each to the two sons, with fixed deposits until maturity or majority. PTI COR GK