A man, who suffered a permanent disability in a road accident after the bus he was travelling in fell into a ditch, has been awarded a compensation of over Rs 36 lakh by a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) here.
The tribunal directed the Oriental Insurance Company, with which the offending vehicle was insured, to pay Rs 36,95,136 as compensation to Krishan Kumar, who was on his way to Katra from Jammu with his family when the bus fell into a ditch due to the rash driving by its driver.
"Since the petitioner (Kumar) suffered injuries in the road accident due to rash and negligent driving by the driver, he is undoubtedly entitled to compensation," MACT Presiding Officer S C Malik said.
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The tribunal relied on Kumar's testimony and documents on record. It also took into account Kumar's medical reports which stated that his left hand was crushed and had to be amputated.
The disability certificate showed that Kumar had suffered 65 per cent disability in his left hand.
According to the petition, the accident took place when Kumar, a Delhi resident, was on his way from Jammu to Katra in the bus on December 10, 2005, with his wife, son and friends to visit Vaishno Devi shrine.
It said that Mahender, the driver of the bus, was driving at a high speed and in a negligent manner and despite repeated requests from passengers, he did not slow down. He instead told them that he had another trip to manage after dropping them so he had to drive fast, it said.
The driver lost control of the vehicle near Katra and it fell into a ditch leading to death of three persons-- Kumar's wife and two friends, it said.
Remaining passengers suffered grievous injuries and were rushed to a nearby hospital. Three days later they all were brought to Safdarjung hospital here, where Kumar underwent treatment and his left hand, which was crushed in the accident, was amputated.
Kumar, who worked as a pharmacist with the health department of MCD on a salary of Rs 19,000, had filed a petition seeking compensation of Rs 50 lakh for loss of future earnings.
The driver and owner of the bus were proceeded ex-parte, while the insurance company, through a written statement, had claimed the petition was without any cause of action.
