Tribunal awards Rs 18.6 lakh compensation to gardener injured in road accident

Thane, Aug 25 (PTI) The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Thane has awarded a compensation of Rs 18.6 lakh to a 61-year-old garden labourer injured in a road accident on Mumbai-Goa highway in 2021.

The victim's work required the use of his hands and due to the injuries, he was unable to do his job, the MACT noted while assessing his functional disability as 100 per cent.

The tribunal, presided over by member R V Mohite, in the order on August 20, held the offending tanker's driver solely responsible for the incident.

A copy of the order was made available on Monday.

The victim, Dilip Dattu Parbalkar, then aged 57, was riding pillion on a motorcycle with his son-in-law when a speeding tanker hit their two-wheeler near Panvel on the Mumbai-Goa highway on April 14, 2021.

Parbalkar fell and sustained serious injuries, leading to 45 per cent permanent partial disability in his left hand, as per his claim petition.

The tanker owner, a gas transportation company, and its driver tried to argue that the motorcycle rider was at fault. However, the tribunal found these claims to be contradictory and unreliable.

The MACT also noted the tanker's driver did not possess a valid and effective driving license for transporting hazardous goods.

The written statement of the tanker's owner is not supporting the evidence of the offending vehicle's driver, it said.

"I hold that the evidence of driver of the offending vehicle is not reliable and trustworthy," the tribunal said.

"There is nothing on record to show any contributory negligence on the part of claimant. The claimant sustained injuries in the said accident. Thus, the accident occurred due to rash and negligent driving of the offending vehicle," it observed.

At the time of the accident, Parbalkar was working as a garden labourer and earning Rs 15,000 per month.

"His work is related with his hands. Due to accidental injuries, the claimant is unable to do his job. Hence, his functional disability is assessed as 100 per cent," the MACT said.

It awarded a compensation of Rs 18,60,969 to Parbalkar along with an interest of 9 per cent per annum from the date of the petition until the amount is deposited.

The tribunal said the offending tanker's insurer was liable to pay the amount first and then recover it from the vehicle's owner.

In a separate claim, the MACT on August 20 also awarded a compensation of Rs 72.04 lakh to the family of Parbalkar's son-in-law, who died in the same accident. PTI COR GK