Thane MACT awards Rs 22.3 lakh compensation to family injured in autorickshaw crash

Thane, May 12 (PTI) The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Maharashtra's Thane district has awarded Rs 22.3 lakh compensation to five members of a family who were injured in an accident in 2018.
    MACT member S N Shah passed orders against the owner of a car involved in the accident and the insurance company, HDFC ERGO General Insurance Co Ltd.
    A copy of the orders passed on May 3 was made available on Monday.
    The accident occurred on the old Mumbai-Pune Highway on November 10, 2018, when a car rammed into the autorickshaw the complainants were travelling in, causing it to overturn.
    Five occupants of the autorickshaw, including two children, were injured in the accident.
    The tribunal noted, "It is apparent that the accident occurred due to negligence of the driver of the offending vehicle, which was owned by the opponent and at the material time was insured with the opponent insurer."
    A key point of contention was that the driver held a valid licence only for two-wheelers, not for light motor vehicles (LMV).
    While the insurer argued that this constituted a breach of policy terms and sought dismissal of the claim, the tribunal ruled that the company has to satisfy the claim first and then recover it from the driver of the vehicle.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)