Road mishap: Couple gets compensation for loss of unborn child

A 31-year-old man and his wife, who suffered injuries and lost their unborn child in a road accident here, have been awarded nearly Rs 13 lakh compensation by a Delhi court.
Additional District Judge Ashwani Kumar Sarpal directed New India Assurance Company Ltd, insurer of the offending RTV, to pay a compensation of 12.95 lakh to the couple who was on a motorcycle when they met with the accident.
The court, while holding the driver of the RTV guilty of rash driving, relied on the testimonies of the victim couple, eye witnesses and documents including FIR, medical report and mechanical inspection report of the vehicles.

Initially the woman and the man were awarded compensation of Rs 6 lakh and Rs 13.89 lakh, respectively, but the court deducted half the amount from the sum awarded to the husband due to his "contributory negligence" as he had jumped the red light leading to the accident.
"Thus the rashness and negligence on part of the petitioner driving the motorcycle due to jumping of red light is also clear," the court said.
The court also rejected the claim of Rs 26 lakh made by the couple for the loss of their unborn child and awarded Rs 2.5 lakh instead while citing a Delhi High Court verdict which had held that the "memories of an unborn child hurt less compared to an alive child who has died".

"The claim of the petitioners for compensation of Rs 25 lakh towards death of unborn child and Rs one lakh for loss of love and affection is hereby rejected," the court said.

According to the petition filed by the couple, on the night of July 19, 2007, they were going on a motorcycle from Lawrence Road to Yamuna Vihar here, when a rashly driven RTV hit them near a red light due to which the petitioners got injured and seven months pregnancy of the woman was aborted.
It claimed Rs 50 lakh compensation for injuries suffered by the couple, while through another petition they claimed an amount of Rs 26 lakh for the death of their unborn child.

The man, a businessman, had suffered 75 per cent permanent disability in his right leg, it said.
During the proceedings, the driver and the insurance company had claimed that their was negligence on the part of the man who was riding the bike as he had jumped the red light while the signal for the RTV was green.
The accused driver had alleged he was falsely implicated in the case as he was found near the accident spot.