Thane Man Gets Rs 51 Lakh Compensation 11 Years After Wife's Death In Accident

The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Thane here has awarded a compensation of Rs 51.73 lakh to a man for the death of his wife in a road accident in 2014.

The fatal accident on August 19, 2014, was caused by the combined rash and negligent acts of the drivers of three separate vehicles -- two trucks and the auto-rickshaw in which the woman was travelling -- the tribunal, presided over by member R V Mohite, noted in the order on Monday.

The claimant's counsel, YS Duduskar, told the tribunal that Pratiksha Brian D'Souza (then aged 29), head of the activity centre at a school in Maharashtra's Thane city, was travelling with her husband Brian D'Souza, in an auto-rickshaw on Ghodbunder Road.

The auto-rickshaw took a sudden turn while attempting to avoid a stationary truck abandoned "almost middle of the road without any distress signal, parking lights and any other alarming measures/signs," the petition said.

At that moment, another truck coming from behind at a high speed dashed into the auto-rickshaw, it said.

The auto-rickshaw got crushed between the two trucks and the woman died on the spot, the claimant said.

The MACT examined the evidence and apportioned the entire 100 per cent negligence among the three vehicle owners and drivers.

It held the driver and owner of the stationary truck responsible for illegally parking the vehicle.

"Parking the vehicle almost on the middle of the road without any alarming measures is a definitely negligent act on the part of driver and owner of said vehicle," the tribunal said.

The auto-rickshaw driver was found negligent for driving at excessive speed and making an abrupt move without caution.

The other truck driver was also held negligent for high speed and failing to maintain a safe distance between his vehicle and the auto-rickshaw.

The tribunal fixed the negligence on part of the drivers, owners and insurers of the two trucks at 40 per cent each and directed both the parties to pay a compensation of Rs 20,69,478 each.

In the case of the auto-rickshaw, the MACT assessed the liability of the auto-rickshaw driver, owner and insurer and 20 per cent and directed them to pay Rs 10,34,740 as their share of the compensation.

The compensation awarded included Rs 33,72,664 for loss of future income, Rs 16,86,332 for future prospects and amounts for non-pecuniary heads like loss of consortium and loss of estate.

The tribunal directed the opponents to deposit the total amount of Rs 51,73,696 along with 9 per cent interest (from the date of filing of the claim) within one month, with a portion of Rs 25 lakh to be invested in a five-year fixed deposit for the claimant. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)