Tribunal awards Rs 29 lakh compensation to family of man killed in road accident

Thane, Aug 20 (PTI) The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Maharashtra's Thane has ordered an insurance company and a truck owner to pay a compensation of nearly Rs 29 lakh to the family of a pharmacist who was killed in a road accident in 2020.

The order was passed on Tuesday by the tribunal presided over by member R V Mohite.

In the petition, 28-year-old victim Sachin Ashok Gavhane's parents sought a compensation of Rs 80 lakh. The tribunal determined the actual compensation based on the deceased person's income, dependency and legal precedents.

On August 1, 2020, Sachin was riding his motorcycle from Kalyan in Thane district to Vashi in Navi Mumbai when a truck hit him on the Shil Phata-Mahape Road. He succumbed to his injuries before reaching the hospital. Police registered a case of negligent driving against the truck driver.

In the order, the tribunal said, "The truck had not only dashed the motorcycle from its back side, but its speed was such that the truck driver could not control the vehicle for about 8 feet...The driver of the truck was driving the offending vehicle in a rash and negligent manner." The insurance company contested liability citing absence of a valid licence.

However, the tribunal rejected this contention, saying, "The insurance company has failed to prove that the driver of the offending truck was not holding valid driving licence at the time of the accident. There is no wilful breach of terms and conditions of insurance policy by the owner of the offending vehicle." On the compensation, the tribunal noted that Sachin was working as a pharmacist at a medical store in Navi Mumbai's Vashi, earning Rs 19,300 per month. After applying the multiplier method and considering the future prospects, loss of consortium, funeral expenses and other heads, the tribunal fixed the total compensation at Rs 28,93,040.

The tribunal ordered joint and several liability of the owner of the offending vehicle and the insurance company, directing payment within one month. Out of the total compensation, Rs 10 lakh will go to the father and Rs 18.93 lakh to the mother, with a portion mandated to be invested in fixed deposits.

The claimants are entitled to get 9 per cent interest per annum from the date of petition till the amount is deposited, it said. PTI COR NP