New Delhi, Aug 28 A motor accident claims tribunal has awarded Rs 2.72 crore to a 23-year-old man who lost his right leg in a road accident in 2023, saying an earnest effort needed to be made to compensate him for his permanent disability.
In his petition, Anurag, the claimant, told presiding officer Abhilash Malhotra that he was driving a goods vehicle for his employer, Yogesh Kumar, on December 4, 2023, near the Beg Sarai flyover on Outer Ring Road when a heavy goods vehicle rammed his vehicle from behind, causing it to crash into a tree.
The offending vehicle fled the spot, while Anurag was rushed to a government hospital, where his right leg was amputated during treatment, the petition said.
In the order dated August 25, the tribunal said it is established that the accident took place due to rash driving of the unknown, untraced vehicle, which hit the victim’s vehicle and then fled from the spot.
It directed Reliance General Insurance Co Ltd to deposit Rs 2.72 crore under various heads, including interest, cost of artificial limb, maintenance of prosthetics, attendant charges for life, loss of future earnings and non-pecuniary damages such as pain, suffering, disfigurement and loss of marriage prospects.
“It is clear that due to the accident, the petitioner (Anurag) will not be able to drive again,” the tribunal said, adding that though his medical disability was assessed at 80 per cent, the victim’s “functional disability is 100 per cent”, the tribunal said.
Rejecting the insurance company’s claim that the accident happened due to Anurag’s negligence, it said, “Police found that the victim’s vehicle was hit by some unknown vehicle, which fled from the spot. No clue of the said vehicle or its driver could be found.”
