A tea vendor, whose right hand got crushed by a school bus, has been awarded a compensation of over Rs 5 lakh by a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) here.
The tribunal directed National Insurance Company, with which the bus was insured, to pay Rs 5,13,500 to 28-year-old Ashish Kumar, who had come to drop his kids at a bus stand in Malviya Nagar here when the vehicle hit him in 2012.
"Since the vehicle was owned by respondent 2 (Delhi Public School, R K Puram) so, it is vicariously liable to compensate the petitioner (Kumar)," MACT Presiding Officer K S Mohi said, while holding the driver guilty for "rash and negligent driving".
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"No contrary evidence has been led by the respondents (driver, school and insurer)... It is, therefore, established that the petitioner sustained injuries in the road accident due to rash and negligent driving of the bus," the tribunal said.
While awarding the compensation, the tribunal relied on medical reports and noted that Kumar had suffered 13 per cent permanent disability in his right hand.
"Due to the permanent disability, the claimant would not be able to participate in the normal activities of his daily life to pursue his talents, recreation interest, hobbies and evocations," it said.
According to the petition, on the early morning of October 16, 2012, Kumar had gone to drop his children at the bus stand of DPS School, R K Puram, in Malviya Nagar.
When he returned to his car after seeing them off, the bus, driven negligently by its Umed Singh, hit his right hand with great force.
Due to this, his hand was crushed between the window of his car and the bus, it said.
Kumar fell down and sustained injuries after which he was shifted to a hospital.
Kumar, who was earning a monthly income of Rs 15,000 by selling tea, had claimed a compensation of Rs seven lakh.
The driver and the school had not filed any written replies and had stopped appearing in the matter after which they were proceeded ex-parte. The insurance company, through a written statement, had denied the incident and allegations.
