Four years on, Shriram General Insurance Co told to pay Rs 2.3 crore to accident victim’s kin

CHENNAI: Four years after a 37-year-old private firm manager was killed in a road accident, a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal has directed Shriram General Insurance Co Ltd. to provide a compensation of Rs 2.37 crore to the family of the deceased. Menaka Gulvadi, who was riding a bicycle along Bengaluru-Bellary Main Road, was hit by a car and thrown off causing serious head injuries. She died later at a private hospital.

The petition filed in the tribunal by the victim’s parents said the car driven in a rash and negligent manner had hit the bicycle on March 24, 2016, near the Bharathi Junction. Menaka had been riding only on the side of the road and the car hit her while trying to overtake her from the side.  The sole breadwinner of the family, Menaka was earning Rs 1.87 lakh per month and the private insurance company was liable to pay a compensation of Rs 5.85  crore, the petition said.

Denying the allegations, counsel for the insurance firm submitted that the entire accident was caused by negligence of the bicycle rider and not the car driver. The insurance firm also told the tribunal that the compensation claim was exorbitant. However, the tribunal, presided by S Umamaheshwari, considering oral and documentary evidence such as the First Information Report and the postmortem report, observed that the accident happened due to rash and negligent driving by the driver.

Considering the age and occupation of the deceased, the tribunal directed the insurance firm to provide a compensation of Rs 2.37 crore to the family of the deceased.

Source: The New Indian Express

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