Man disabled in accident gets Rs 3.45 lakh compensation

An accident claims tribunal has awarded a compensation of Rs 3.45 lakh to a man who suffered a permanent disability after being hit by a dumper here in 2012.
Thane Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) member K D Vadane, in a recent order, directed the owner of the dumper and its insurer to jointly and severally pay the amount along with 8 per cent interest to the applicant, Satyam Kandukuri, from the date of filing of the claim.
Kandukuri, then aged 39, worked as a labour contractor in Thane and had a monthly income of nearly Rs 45,200, his counsel told the tribunal.

On December 16, 2012, the speeding dumper hit his motorcycle from behind near Patlipada overbridge in Thane city, while he on his way to work.
Kandukuri sustained severe injuries and was treated in different hospitals. He spent over Rs 3.50 lakh on treatment but despite that, he suffered from a permanent disability, the counsel said.
He then approached the tribunal seeking a claim of Rs 12 lakh.

The dumper owner, Sunil Bhoir, a resident of Bhiwandi township in Thane, appeared before MACT.
The counsel for the dumper's insurer, TATA AIG Insurance Company Limited, however, contested the claim on various grounds.

After hearing both the sides, MACT member Vadane observed that Kandukuri, during cross-examination, stated that the width of the road, on which he was travelling at the time of the accident, was about 50 feet. The applicant also admitted that he was at a distance of around 25 feet from the left corner of the road.
This implicitly shows that inspite of there being sufficient space towards the left side, the applicant was riding his vehicle in the middle of the road, Vadane noted.
It is also clear from the contents of the FIR that the dumper driver was driving his vehicle at a high speed, in a rash and negligent manner, and dashed into the applicant's two-wheeler, he observed.

The tribunal said there was a contributory negligence to the extent of 90 per cent on the dumper driver's part and 10 per cent on part of Kandukuri.
The MACT worked out a compensation of Rs 3,84,255 and awarded 90 per cent of it - Rs 3,45,830 - to the applicant after considering 10 per cent towards his contributory negligence.