Pune: A Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) directed a truck owner and the vehicle insurance company to jointly and severally pay Rs 19.24 lakh compensation to the family of an 18-year-old accident victim with 7% annual interest from the date of filing of the claim petition until full realisation.Observing that the accident victim was “not a great scholar” but “was in a position to get an education which would help him earn something for his livelihood”, the tribunal presided over by MACT member BD Kulkarni on Monday issued the directive. It held the driver of the 12-wheeler cement truck solely responsible for the accident that claimed the life of Omkar Palekar.Omkar suffered grievous injuries after the truck allegedly rammed stationary vehicles and people standing on the Solapur-Pune highway near Kadamvakvasti on the night of May 5, 2022. He was taken to Vishwaraj Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.The tribunal noted that the deceased and occupants of another vehicle had stepped out after a minor collision between a pickup jeep and a car. The truck allegedly rammed the stationary vehicles from behind. The tribunal said this amounted to negligence on the part of the truck driver.The tribunal rejected the insurer’s contention that the stationary vehicles had contributed to the accident by allegedly remaining on the road without indicators.While assessing compensation, the tribunal considered the academic record of the deceased. It noted that he had secured 60% marks in SSC and 49% in HSC examinations. The tribunal observed that although he was “not a great scholar”, he was pursuing education that could have helped him “earn something for his livelihood”, and assessed his notional monthly income at Rs12,000 before applying future prospects and multiplier calculations.
