Chennai: The Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Chennai, has directed an insurance firm to pay a compensation of Rs 13.75 lakh for a BE student who sustained grievous injuries in a road accident caused by an Omni bus in Karnataka three years ago. He suffered 40 per cent disability following the mishap.
In the petition, D. Jegan of Avadi submitted that he was doing BE in a private engineering college near Poonamallee. He was also doing part time work and earning Rs 10,000 per month. He was travelling along with his friends in an Omni bus at Madikeri, Kodagu, Karnataka on January 24, 2014.
The vehicle was driven by Omprakash in a rash and negligent manner. While negotiating a curve he lost control of the vehicle and it rammed into an electrical post near Aranya Bhavan, Madikeri at 2.15 pm. Jegan fell down and sustained grievous injuries. His left hand was fractured. Jegan was admitted to a private hospital in Bengaluru and later in Chennai. Plastic surgery was performed on him. He underwent treatment for over 50 days.
Jegan said he suffered 40 per cent disability. Due to the accident, he was unable to pursue the part time work and studies affected. The Madikeri Traffic Police, Kodagu district, registered a criminal case against bus driver under sections 279, 337 of IPC.
The accident was caused by the bus driver and hence owner of the bus, and the insurer of the vehicle liable to pay a compensation of Rs 25 lakh. In its reply, the insurance firm stated that the accident occurred due to the negligence of Jegan only, who moved to the backside in the bus along with his friends. As there were two immediate curves on the road, the driver lost his control over the vehicle and dashed on the lamp post.
Judge Small Causes Court III, P. Velmurugan, said due to the disability, Jegan cannot carry weights on his left hand and he may face difficulty in doing any work with his hand as done prior to the accident and his left hand became unfit to do any work. The judge directed the insurance firm to pay him a compensation of ' 13.75 lakh.
