MACT orders truck owner to pay ₹23L to deceased woman’s family

MACT directs truck owner to pay ₹23 lakh compensation to family of deceased woman. Car driver ordered to pay ₹16 lakh to family of deceased friend due to negligence.

MUMBAI: The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT), a civil court that hears and resolves claims arising from motor accidents, recently directed a truck owner to pay compensation of ₹23 lakh with interest at the rate of 7% per annum to the family of a 37-year-old woman who had died after the truck hit their two-wheeler in Navi Mumbai in 2017.

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On December 10, 2017, Chetna Patil, her husband and their two children aged 7 and 10, all residents of Palghar, were headed towards Chembur for a family function on a motorcycle, driven by her husband.

When they reached near Vashi octroi post signal, a truck approached them at high speed and suddenly turned left without any prior signals or indicators and hit the bike. The impact was so strong that Chetna and her two children were flung off the bike. As the woman tried to protect her children, she sustained grievous injuries. She was immediately rushed to Rajawadi Hospital where doctors on duty declared her dead before admission.

The 37-year-old owned a business, Fancy Contractors and Raj Travels, while her husband worked as a peon in a school. The cause of death, as given by Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College and General (LTMG) Hospital, was “hemorrhagic shock due to multiple injuries to vital organs and fractures following blunt trauma to head, chest and abdomen.”

The advocate for the insurer highlighted the contributory negligence of the deceased by submitting that the husband could not balance the motorcycle as the family of four was travelling on the vehicle and that the deceased was not even wearing a helmet.

Advocate Manoj Sonawane, appearing for the family, rebutted the argument, stating that neither the deceased travelling with her children, with her husband on a motorcycle nor the absence of a helmet on the pillion amounted to any contribution to the accident.

The tribunal accepted Sonawane’s arguments and said, “It is seen that the very cause of death is not head injury alone. Moreover, there is no evidence brought on record by the insurer showing that due to the carrying of three pillion riders the rider of the bike could not control his bike and therefore the accident occurred. It is clear that there was no contributory negligence on the part of the deceased.”

The tribunal held that the husband and the minor children of the deceased were entitled to get a total amount of ₹23,64,000 as compensation, which included funeral expenses and loss of estate, loss of dependency and parental consortium.

This amount, the tribunal said, included No Fault Liability (which holds a person or an entity responsible for damage or injuries without requiring proof of fault or negligence) with interest at the rate of 7% per annum from the date of the application till actual realisation of the entire amount.

Car driver told to pay family of deceased friend

In another judgement delivered last week, the MACT directed a car driver to pay ₹16 lakh with interest at the rate of 7% per annum to the family of his 19-year-old friend who died after the four-wheeler hit the divider near Urse toll plaza on the Mumbai- Pune Expressway in the night of July 13, 2020.

It was stated that when the car approached the toll plaza, some dogs suddenly crossed the road, which forced the driver to apply urgent breaks. Due to this, the car hit the iron divider. The injured teenager was rushed to Pawna Hospital in Maval district where he succumbed to his injuries later in the day. The tribunal held the driver of the car for negligence and that he failed to take care and caution to avoid an accident and therefore liable to compensate the family of the deceased.