Pay victim’s kin, recover sum from bike owner, insurer told

Pay victim’s kin, recover sum from bike owner, insurer told

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:16.03.2021

A city accident claims tribunal has directed an insurance firm to compensate an accident victim, who was killed after he was hit by a vehicle driven by a minor without driving licence, and has directed the insurer to recover the same from the vehicle owner. The tribunal after perusing the submissions directed the insurer to pay ₹18 lakh to the victim’s family.

B Mallika of Sivaganga had moved the tribunal in 2018 seeking a compensation for the death of her husband Babu. According to her petition, Babu was walking along Ambattur Estate road when a rashly driven two-wheeler hit him, leading to his death on the spot.

The accident happened around 7 pm on April 4, 2018. The insurer contended that the two wheeler was driven by a minor at the time of the accident and it cannot be held liable to compensate the victim’s family and also argued that the accident happened due to the negligence of the pedestrian.

After perusing the submissions, the tribunal noted that the insurance firm did not contest that the offending vehicle was insured with them at the time of the accident. The tribunal took note of the investigation report which stated that the bike was driven by a 16-year-old boy without a valid driving licence. Noting that it is a violation of insurance policy, the tribunal stated that the owner is liable to pay the compensation. The tribunal, citing Supreme Court guidelines, directed the insurer to compensate the victim’s family, with liberty to recover it from the vehicle owner.

The deceased was 42 years old at the time of the accident and was working as a mason. Considering the loss to the family and other expenses, the tribunal arrived at a sum of ₹19.7 lakh as compensation within two months.

The insurer contended that the two-wheeler was driven by a minor at the time of the accident and it can’t be held liable to compensate the victim’s family