New Delhi, Oct 7 A Delhi Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) has awarded around Rs 78.28 lakh compensation to a 32-year-old mechanic who suffered 80 per cent permanent disability in a 2016 road accident.
Presiding Officer Abhilash Malhotra, in an order dated September 28, held that the accident was caused by the car driver's rash driving and directed the vehicle's insurer, Tata AIG General Insurance Co Ltd, to pay the amount.
According to the plea, the injured, Mohammad Abrar, was riding a scooter on the afternoon of July 11, 2016, on Shankar Road here when the driver of a stationary car suddenly opened the vehicle's door, hitting the scooter and causing a head injury to Abrar, for which he was operated twice.
The tribunal rejected the insurer's claim of Abrar being negligent, saying a two-wheeler rider cannot be expected to assume that a car door will be flung open without warning.
"The driver of the car had suddenly opened the car door without giving any reaction time to the victim," it said, adding that the car driver, who had been charged with negligence and causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others, did not step into the witness box, for which the tribunal had to draw an adverse inference against him.
Noting the evidence before it, the tribunal said that it was established that the accident took place due to rashness and negligence of the offending vehicle.
The tribunal noted that a hospital disability board had assessed Abrar's permanent disability at 80 per cent, covering neurophysiological and locomotor (movement) impairment because of head injuries, and a psychological assessment had also found significant cognitive impairment.
Though disability and loss of earning capacity are not always the same, the tribunal said it was treating the functional disability as 100 per cent.
Abrar, who had studied only up to Class 10, worked as an AC mechanic, a job involving carrying heavy tools and working in tough conditions, the tribunal said, adding that he could no longer do this work and his prospects of other employment were quite bleak.
It then awarded around Rs 78.28 lakh under various heads, such as interest, loss of future income, loss of income during treatment, medical expenses, pain and suffering, loss of amenities, mental and physical shock, disfiguration and hardship, mental stress and unhappiness in future life.
The tribunal said that though the driver, the vehicle owner and the insurer were jointly and severally liable, the insurer had to deposit the amount.
