In 2012, the accident of 42 years old truck driver leads to his death on the highway of Kancheepuram district. The petition was filed by Kavita seeking compensation for the death of her husband who is a sole owner & driver of the truck.
The insurance company in reply has contended that the accident happened only due to the negligence of the truck driver and held not to be liable to pay compensation.
After hearing from both sides, the tribunal has noted that the FIR statement also said that the accident occurred due to rash driving by the deceased truck driver. However, FIR alone cannot be a substantive piece of evidence. Subsequently, the Tribunal also underlined that there were eyewitness accounts who state that bus driver had also perated the vehicle in a negligent manner.
Concluding the Submissions, the Tribunal has held that both the Bus driver and deceased truck driver are equally responsible for the accident and therefore, the family of deceased will receive compensation.
Further, the Court has emphasized that the computing factors like age, loss of income would be Rs. 37 lakhs for compensation. But, after deducting 50% for contributory negligence, the Tribunal directed the insurer of the Insurance company to pay compensation of Rs. 18.5 lakhs to the family of the deceased truck driver.
