A Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) has awarded a compensation of ₹37.95 lakh in a 2007 accident case in which a woman died and one of her daughters suffered 70% permanent disability in the lower left limb.
Hit by truck
Rajni Sharma and her twin daughters were riding pillion on a motorcycle driven by her cousin on the night of December 18, 2007, when a truck hit them from behind. The compensation claim petitions were filed by the minor twins through their maternal uncle.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Tribunal awarded ₹27.75 lakh to the girls for the death of their mother and ₹10.20 lakh to the twin who suffered grievous injuries.
The victims were near Ajmeri Gate when the speeding truck rammed their vehicle from behind. They fell due to the impact and Ms. Sharma, a sales manager in a boutique with a monthly salary of ₹20,000, got crushed under the wheels of the truck while one of her daughters was grievously injured.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Disabled student
ADVERTISEMENT
It noted that Ms. Sharma’s 12-year-old daughter was unable to walk without crutches. She testified that she faced difficulties as a differently-abled student since her school did not have a ramp. Even the washrooms were not differently-abled friendly. She also had to climb the stairs with the help of a walker.
The Tribunal said the truck owner and driver preferred not to appear during the proceedings. It also held that the licence of the driver was forged.
Directing Oriental Insurance Company Ltd., the insurer of the truck, to pay the compensation amount to the sisters, the tribunal granted it the right to recover the amount from the truck owner and driver.
“I am of the considered opinion that the insurance company succeeded in establishing that there was wilful breach of terms and conditions of the policy on the part of truck driver and owner. Accordingly, the insurance company shall have a right to recover the awarded amount in both the matters from them without filing separate suit,” the order said.