The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Thane has awarded Rs 16.62 lakh in compensation to the family of Paras Haresh Bhanushali Katarmal, an 18-year-old who was fatally injured in a road accident in 2019. The decision, issued by Tribunal member P R Ashturkar, holds the trailer truck owner and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Ltd responsible for the compensation, along with an interest rate of 6% per annum.
Paras, employed as a data entry operator, met his untimely death on April 24, 2019, near an eatery in Uran town of Raigad district. He was standing beside his father on their parked scooter when a speeding trailer truck, driven recklessly, struck him. The Uran Police Station subsequently registered an FIR against the truck driver, citing rash and negligent driving under the Indian Penal Code and the Motor Vehicles Act.
The claim for compensation was pursued by Paras’s family, including his father Haresh, 48, mother Jayashree, 46, and sister Vidya, 22. They argued that Paras was a contributing financial member of the family, earning Rs 15,000 monthly at a cargo firm in Mumbai.
Despite the truck owner, Indira Mulchand Vora, failing to appear before the tribunal, resulting in an ex parte proceeding, Bajaj Allianz contested the claim. The insurance company argued that the accident was due to negligence on the part of the deceased and alleged violations of the insurance policy’s terms. Nevertheless, the tribunal dismissed these defenses, affirming the insurance company’s liability.
The compensation breakdown included Rs 15,12,000 for the loss of future income, Rs 1,20,000 for loss of consortium to the parents and sibling, Rs 15,000 for funeral expenses, and another Rs 15,000 for loss of estate, totaling Rs 16,62,000.
