Thane: The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Thane has awarded compensation of Rs 58.3 lakh to a 31-year-old software professional who lost his left leg in a road accident on Ghodbunder Road in 2019. The tribunal directed the insurance company to pay the amount with 9% annual interest from the date of filing of the petition, with liberty to recover it later from the vehicle owner.According to the judgment delivered by Member RV Mohite, the accident occurred on March 30, when the claimant rode his motorcycle near Children Traffic Park at Kasarvadavali. A truck allegedly rammed into him from behind at high speed and fled the spot. Kasarvadavali police registered an FIR under relevant sections of the IPC and Motor Vehicles Act.
The injured man was rushed to a private hospital in Thane, where he underwent prolonged treatment. Medical records placed before the tribunal showed that his left leg was amputated due to crush injuries. He was later fitted with a modular prosthetic limb and was assessed to have 65% permanent locomotor disability. However, the tribunal considered his functional disability at 25% for the purpose of calculating loss of earning capacity. The claimant, who was employed in the IT sector at the time of the accident, sought compensation of Rs 2 crore, restricted to Rs 1 lakh in the petition. After evaluating medical bills, prosthetic expenses, loss of income, future prospects, and non-pecuniary damages such as pain and suffering, the tribunal computed total compensation at Rs 58.3 lakh.While the insurer argued that the policy was fake and that there was a breach of terms, the tribunal held that the company must first satisfy the award in favour of the third-party claimant and then recover the amount from the vehicle owner, if permissible in law. The tribunal also directed that Rs 10 lakh be kept in a fixed deposit for three years, with the balance to be transferred to the claimant’s bank account within a month.
