Thane MACT awards Rs 26.2 lakh compensation to kin of man killed in autorickshaw accident

Thane, Aug 18 (PTI) The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Maharashtra's Thane district has awarded a compensation of Rs 26.21 lakh to the family of a 40-year-old man killed in an autorickshaw accident in 2018.

Tribunal member R V Mohite held the vehicle owner solely liable after rejecting the claim of the insurer, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd, that the policy was "fake and fabricated".

A copy of the order dated August 12 was made available on Monday.

The insurer contested the claim, while the vehicle owner, Tayyab Mohammed Baig, remained ex parte.

Tribunal member Mohite held that the accident, which took place on May 4, 2018, was due to "rash and negligent driving" of the autorickshaw driver.

He noted that the driver of the offending vehicle was chewing a tobacco-like substance. His pouch of tobacco fell in the autorickshaw, and he bent down to pick it up and lost control of the vehicle, due to which it dashed into a roadside tree.

The tribunal further observed that there was no evidence of contributory negligence on the part of the deceased, who worked in a logistics company.

The tribunal calculated pecuniary loss, future prospects, consortium, funeral expenses, and other heads, arriving at a total compensation of Rs 26.2 lakh, with 9 per cent interest per annum from the date of the petition. PTI COR ARU