Mumbai, Jun 26 A motor accident tribunal here has awarded a cumulative compensation of nearly Rs 1.09 crore to a family of four, including two minor siblings who were left with severe disabilities following a road accident in Bihar in 2018.
One of the victims, a two-year-old boy, had suffered an injury that resulted in the amputation of his right leg below the knee.
The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) said the amputation would severely restrict his ability to walk and play sports, adversely affecting his overall personality and future marriage prospects.
Presiding member Gauri Kawdikar passed four separate orders on June 25, emphasising the consequences the accident forced upon the toddler and his five-year-old sister.
The girl had sustained a head injury, a facial injury, and a fracture of the occipital bone, which forms the back and lower part of the skull.
The tribunal said that this permanent disfigurement would negatively impact her personality as well as her future prospects.
It awarded them a combined sum of over Rs 56 lakh.
To protect the minors' futures, the tribunal directed that their respective compensation amounts be kept securely in Fixed Deposit Receipts in a nationalised bank until they attain the age of majority.
The tribunal noted that the mother of the children suffered a traumatic amputation of her right arm with shoulder disarticulation due to gangrene, resulting in an 88 per cent permanent partial disability.
It directed the insurance company to pay her a compensation of Rs 41,75,576.
The accident occurred on the morning of December 6, 2018, near the Ranikud Bridge in Manipur, Madhubani district.
The family, residents of Mumbai, was travelling on a motorcycle when a speeding truck rammed into their two-wheeler.
The insurance company contended that four persons were riding the motorcycle and the accident was an outcome of their negligence.
However, the tribunal rejected their contention, holding that two of the riders were minor children travelling as pillion riders, and there was no contributory negligence on their part
“Thus, on the basis of police papers, it is held that the accident occurred due to rash and negligent driving of the driver of the truck,” the court ruled.
The rider of the motorcycle and uncle to the children also sustained a 46 per cent permanent partial disability and was awarded Rs 10,80,480.
The tribunal has ordered that the truck owner, Dipak Kumar, and the insurer, Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company, jointly and severally pay the total compensation of nearly Rs 1.09 crore.
It had discarded the insurer’s claim of a permit breach due to a lack of supporting evidence from the Regional Transport Office.
