Mumbai, August 11, 2026: The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT), Mumbai, has directed the owner of an autorickshaw and Future Generali India Insurance Company Ltd. to jointly and severally pay Rs 22.32 lakh as compensation to a 25-year-old civil engineer who suffered serious injuries in a 2019 road accident.
The order was passed by MACT Member R.R. Patwari. The 24-page order stated:
"As observed in the order copy, the doctor has not assessed percentage of disablement suffered by the claimant accurately. Further, the claimant's employer has clearly stated that the claimant is regular at work and visits the sites regularly and that he has been given promotion only considering his efficiency and work performance. Meaning thereby, the physical disablement has not much affected the functional ability of the claimant. However, it is the evidence of employer that the claimant is not able to visit more than one site due to the disability and his work is restricted to the one site only. Therefore, considering this and having regard to the overall facts and circumstances, it would be appropriate to grant compensation of Rs 3,00,000 in lump sum for the disablement suffered by the claimant on account of the accidental injuries."
Rakesh Udayraj Prajapati had sought compensation of Rs 10 lakh for injuries sustained in the accident.
Accident And Injuries
According to the claimant, the accident occurred on January 27, 2019, when Prajapati was travelling in an autorickshaw. The vehicle, allegedly being driven at high speed and negligently, collided with a stationary mini bus near Kajupada village on the Kashimira side.
Prajapati said that the autorickshaw hit the mini bus so severely that he suffered a fracture of the posterior wall of the left acetabulum and a fracture of the distal end of the radius. He underwent treatment at Orbit Superspeciality Hospital and Jupiter Hospital.
At the time of the accident, Prajapati was working as a civil engineer with Senghani Creators Pvt. Ltd. and was earning Rs 19,251 per month. The tribunal noted that he could not resume work for nearly two years following the accident and subsequently had to take up another job at a lower salary.
Insurer's Objections Rejected
The insurance company, however, disputed its liability, arguing that the autorickshaw driver did not possess a valid driving licence at the time of the accident. It also claimed that the stationary mini bus had contributed to the accident and questioned the extent of Prajapati's disability.
However, the tribunal rejected the insurer's plea regarding the driving licence. It observed that the RTO records contained overlapping validity periods for the transport category of the driver's licence.
Since the insurer had not examined an RTO official to clarify the discrepancy, the tribunal held that it would not be proper to conclude that there was a breach of the insurance policy conditions.
The tribunal also held that the mini bus had contributed to the accident by being parked on the roadside without parking lights, signals or indicators. It fixed 20 per cent contributory negligence on the mini bus and 80 per cent liability on the autorickshaw.
As Prajapati had not made the mini bus or its owner and driver parties to the claim, he was held entitled to recover only 80 per cent of the assessed compensation from the autorickshaw owner and insurer.
Compensation Calculation
While assessing the compensation, the tribunal awarded Rs 17.47 lakh towards loss of income, Rs 5 lakh towards disability, pain and suffering and loss of amenities, Rs 50,000 towards conveyance, special diet and attendant charges, and Rs 4.93 lakh towards medical expenses. The total compensation was assessed at Rs 27.91 lakh, of which 80 per cent, amounting to Rs 22,32,930, was made payable to Prajapati.
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The tribunal noted that although an orthopaedic surgeon had assessed Prajapati's physical disability at 82 per cent, the evidence did not establish that his functional ability had been affected to the same extent.
However, the tribunal accepted that he had suffered permanent physical disablement and that it had restricted his ability to visit more than one work site. It therefore granted Rs 3 lakh towards the disability suffered.
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