The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Maharashtra`s Thane district has awarded a compensation of Rs 55 lakh to a woman who sustained severe injuries in a crash involving a state transport bus in 2021, reported news agency PTI.
Thane MACT member R V Mohite, in an order passed on Friday, held the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) solely liable for the accident, in which the claimant sustained injuries that led to the amputation of her right hand and the loss of her job, reported PTI.
The accident occurred on the afternoon of August 24, 2021, when the claimant, Kanchan Sham Kute (then 36), was travelling in a state transport bus from Khed to Shivajinagar on the Nashik-Pune Highway, and the driver dashed the vehicle into an electric pole, causing it to overturn.
The MSRTC argued that the accident occurred due to brake failure, but the tribunal rejected this contention, citing the driver`s negligence.
“The speed of the bus was of such a nature that the driver could not control it when its brakes failed,” it stated, reported PTI.
The Thane MACT also noted that while the driver signalled the conductor about the brake failure, “there is no evidence that he gave instructions for safety to the passengers in the bus”, reported PTI.
The claimant suffered multiple injuries, including a crush injury to her right hand below the elbow, which was subsequently amputated.
She produced a disability certificate showing 70 per cent permanent disability in relation to her right arm and a termination letter from her employer, confirming her job loss.
The tribunal directed the MSRTC to pay Rs 55 lakh as compensation with 9 per cent annual interest from the date of the petition.
Tribunal awards Rs 30 lakh compensation to family of man killed by reversing bus
In another case, the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Thane has awarded a compensation of Rs 30.11 lakh to the family of an IT consultant killed after being struck by a reversing bus in 2020, reported PTI.
Thane MACT member RV Mohite, in the order passed on Tuesday, noted the accident occurred due to the sole negligence of the offending bus driver, reported PTI.
It held both the owner of the bus and its insurer jointly and severally liable to pay the compensation to the deceased`s family.
The accident occurred on August 26, 2020, on the Nashik-Mumbai Highway near Naupada in Maharashtra`s Thane city.
The victim, Dinesh Yashwant Khot, was standing at a bus stop when the driver of a bus drove past, then “took it in reverse direction in speed and rash and negligent manner without looking behind and suddenly dashed into the deceased,” the claimants — Khot`s wife and two children — told the MACT, reported PTI.
The impact caused the deceased to fall, and the wheel of the bus ran over him, leading to his death before reaching the hospital, they said.
(With inputs from PTI)
