Mumbai: The Mumbai Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) has rejected a compensation claim of Rs 25 lakh filed by a Chembur-based family after finding that the deceased did not die due to injuries sustained in a road accident, but due to alcoholic liver cirrhosis. The tribunal also noted that the claim was filed in 2022—nearly 12 years after the accident and eight years after the death—without any satisfactory explanation for the inordinate delay.
Partial Compensation Granted for Accident-Related Suffering
While dismissing the claim as a fatal accident case, the tribunal, however, granted a lump-sum compensation of Rs 2 lakh under pecuniary and non-pecuniary heads, noting that an FIR had been registered against the BEST bus driver for rash and negligent driving in connection with the accident.
As per the complaint filed by Sitara Jagdamba Prasad Pandey, her husband Jagdamba Prasad was hit by a BEST bus on July 2, 2010, at around 1.30 pm, near the Swastik Chembur bus stop. The complainant alleged that the bus was being driven at an excessive speed and in a rash and negligent manner, causing Jagdamba Prasad to fall on the road and sustain serious injuries.
Following the accident, the injured was first taken to Shatabdi Hospital and later shifted to Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General (LTMG) Hospital, Sion. An FIR was registered on the same day at the Chembur Police Station against the BEST bus driver for causing the accident due to negligent driving.
BEST Undertaking Contests Liability and Notes Delayed Claim
In its reply, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking opposed the claim, stating that the accident had occurred in 2010, while the deceased passed away in 2014. BEST contended that the death certificate clearly recorded the cause of death as liver cirrhosis and not injuries arising from the accident. It further submitted that there was no documentary evidence establishing a nexus between the accidental injuries and the death.
BEST also argued that the claim application was filed in 2022, long after the accident and death, and that the claimants had failed to explain the delay. It further alleged contributory negligence on the part of the deceased, stating that he was crossing the road negligently and fell on the front left side of the bus, denying any fault on the part of the bus driver.
Tribunal Examines Medical Records and Post-Mortem Report
After examining the medical records and post-mortem report, the tribunal observed that the deceased died nearly four years after the accident and that there was no evidence to show that he had been continuously suffering from accident-related injuries during that period. The post-mortem report recorded the cause of death as pulmonary tuberculosis with cirrhosis of the liver due to alcohol consumption, clearly ruling out the accident as the proximate cause of death.
On the issue of delay, the tribunal noted that the deceased did not file any claim during his lifetime and that the family approached the tribunal nearly eight years after his death. Although the Motor Vehicles Act does not prescribe a specific limitation period, the tribunal held that the claimants failed to establish that the death was a direct consequence of the accident.
However, the tribunal held that the evidence on record sufficiently established that Jagdamba Prasad had indeed met with an accident involving a BEST bus in 2010 and had sustained injuries. Considering the mental, physical, and financial suffering caused due to the accident, the tribunal deemed it appropriate to award a lump-sum compensation of Rs 2 lakh, while rejecting the claim for higher compensation.
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