The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Thane has awarded a compensation of ₹13.5 lakh to a 29-year-old man who sustained serious injuries in a road accident that occurred in January 2018 due to rash and negligent driving.
The tribunal, presided over by member R.V. Mohite, passed the order on July 2, noting that the accident was solely caused by the offending pickup vehicle which veered onto the wrong side of the road and struck the rear door of the victim’s car. The order was made public on Monday.
The claimant, Pappu Balu Ghagas, was travelling from Murbad to Padgha in Thane district when the collision caused his car to fall into a roadside drain. He suffered multiple fractures and a traumatic brain injury, resulting in a 13-day hospitalisation followed by extended outpatient treatment.
Although Ghagas claimed to be earning ₹20,000 per month as a supervisor, the tribunal found no documentary proof of income or testimony from his employer, who was also injured in the accident. In light of this, the tribunal fixed his notional monthly income at ₹12,000.
The tribunal assessed the claimant’s functional disability at 20% based on medical records, but observed that the doctors who issued the disability certificates were not the treating physicians and that some fractures had already healed.
The final compensation of ₹13.5 lakh includes:
- ₹5.18 lakh for loss of future earnings,
- ₹2.07 lakh for future prospects,
- Additional amounts for medical expenses, pain and suffering, special diet, and conveyance.
The tribunal directed both the vehicle owner (who remained ex-parte) and the insurance company (which contested the claim) to pay the compensation jointly and severally, with interest at 9% per annum from the date of the petition until the amount is deposited.
To safeguard the claimant’s financial interests, ₹5 lakh from the total compensation will be invested in a five-year fixed deposit in a nationalised bank, while the remaining amount will be paid via account payee cheque.
