The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Maharashtra’s Thane district has directed The New India Assurance Company Limited to pay ₹23.27 lakh compensation, with 9% annual interest, to a 47-year-old trailer driver who suffered severe injuries in a 2021 road accident on the Mumbai–Ahmedabad Highway.
Delivering its order on November 1, MACT member R.V. Mohite held that the insurer would first pay the amount and could later recover it from the owner of the container truck involved in the crash, citing a breach of insurance terms.
The claimant, Gulhasan Iqbaluddin Khan, had filed the petition against Golden Carrying Corporation (owner of the container truck) and the insurer after sustaining multiple fractures in the collision near Manor village in Palghar district on May 6, 2021.
According to Khan, his trailer rammed into a container truck that “took a turn in speed and suddenly stopped without indication,” resulting in serious injuries.
The tribunal concluded that both drivers were partly responsible. It noted that the container truck driver violated traffic rules by suddenly applying brakes while turning, while Khan failed to maintain a “sufficient distance” from the vehicle ahead, as mandated under the Rules of the Road Regulations, 1989.
The tribunal observed:
“The claimant also contributed to the accident by not keeping adequate distance from the vehicle moving ahead to avoid collision.”
Medical evidence showed that Khan suffered multiple fractures, with his permanent partial disability assessed at 58% and occupational disability at 100%. However, the tribunal restricted his functional disability to 40%, citing the absence of a termination letter from his employer to support the claim of total loss of livelihood.
The tribunal further held that Golden Carrying Corporation had violated the insurance policy, as its driver did not hold a valid licence for a heavy goods vehicle on the date of the accident.
Consequently, the insurer was granted the right to recover the compensation amount from the vehicle owner after making the payment to the injured driver.
