Motor accident claim
Chetan Pardakhe
(Querist) 11 September 2011
This query is : Resolved
The youngster of about 25 yrs old died in accident. The said youth is doing the work of labour, his daily earning was Rs. 120/- per day. (Rs.3600/monthly, Rs. 43200/- p.a.)
Pls clear me as following query :
What is the maximum limit of claim u/s 163-A MV Act ?
Upto what age I calculate the claim amount, the deceased was 25 yrs old ?
Which multiplier is applicable for my case ?
Pls guide
Advocate Rajkumarlaxman
(Expert) 11 September 2011
In the case where the fault of the driver is not proved, the legal heirs of the deceased are entitled to no fault liability which is presently fixed at Rs. 50,000/-. In case the death has occurred due to the fault of the driver the compensation is calculated on the basis of the life expectancy of the deceased multiplied by his income. The income for the purposes of this calculation is 50% of the actual income which deceased used to receive as the rest is deducted as the self expenditure. The state of the health of the deceased and his past health record is also taken into consideration while deciding the compensation.
Advocate Rajkumarlaxman
(Expert) 11 September 2011
If the vehicle which hit the person had a third party insurance then he will have to implead Insurance Company as one of the parties to the Compensation Application which is to be filed before the Motor Accident Claim Tribunal and only in such cases Insurance Company will be liable.
Advocate Rajkumarlaxman
(Expert) 11 September 2011
When an accident takes place, a case is registered by the Local Police. In your case as the person has died, the criminal case will attract Section 304 A of the Indian Penal Code which provides for offences relating to death due to negligence. suppose that the State has to prove that the accident took place with scooter and you were driving the same rashly and negligently. In such cases the statements of the eye witnesses (if any) to the accident is required to be produced during the trial. It is also to be proved that the pedestrian was not at any fault. To claim compensation you have to file a separate petition under Motor Vehicle Act in the Motor Accident Claim Tribunal. Even if the fault of driver is not proved still the legal heirs of the deceased will be entitled to "no fault liability" from the Insurance Company
prabhakar singh
(Expert) 11 September 2011
Claim application can be filed under Section 163A for claim to be determined on structural formula basis provided in Schedule-II. Schedule-II has been adjudged as suffering from severe mistakes and the Supreme Court has held that total reliance cannot be placed on this schedule. Further the Schedule do not provide any computation chart for the persons having more than 40,000/- annual income.
prabhakar singh
(Expert) 11 September 2011
Which multiplier is applicable for my case ?
Hon'ble Supreme Court while dealing with a matter evolved a formula. Yearly Income Yearly expenditure on Deceased gives the sum expended on legal representatives. If this amount is capitalized subject to certain deductions, pecuniary loss to the family can be assessed. While improving the above formula Supreme Court in CKS Iyer’s case has stated that there is no exact uniform rule for measuring the value of human life and measure of damages can not be arrived at by a mathematical calculation but the amount recoverable depends upon life expectancy of legal representative beneficiaries. In the same period Lord Diploc has evolved Interest Capitalization method by calculating net pecuniary loss on annual basis and multiplied with number of years purchase. The Hon'ble Supreme Court of India with the development of accident claims has decided the landmark case of Susamma Thomas has started giving appreciation to the annual income of deceased. This appreciation ranges to the double of income depending upon the nature of job, age, future prospects etc. Supreme Court has held that after determining and doubling annual income, 1/3 should be deducted towards the expenses to be incurred on the deceased and the remaining amount should be multiplied by a multiplier depending on the age of deceased and beneficiary. The maximum multiplier approved by Supreme Court in this case was 16. Later, Supreme Court's 3 Judges bench have approved the Davis formula along with determination of dependency on unit basis in which the adults have been taken as 2 units and the minors has been taken as 1 unit. The multiplier, which was approved as 16 in Sushma Thomas case, was increased to maximum of 18. In this case the court did not allow double of the amount except that a premium may be given looking to the future prospects. But, in a recent Supreme Court judgment, in order to make compensation just and to take consideration of overall factors multiplier was reduced from 16 to 12 in case of deceased of 38 years. In same facts and circumstances, in another case Supreme Court has said for determination of multiplier depends upon (1) age of deceased (2) age of claimants (3) marital status (4) education and employment of the claimants; and (5) loss of pecuniary benefits. The Supreme Court has also held that criteria of awarding compensation include some guess work, some hypothetical consideration and some amount of sympathy linked with the nature of disability caused are all involved. But, all such elements are required to be viewed with the objective standard.
prabhakar singh
(Expert) 11 September 2011
In view of the above case laws, one can say that the assessment of compensation is to be guided by way of applying precedents on the facts and circumstances of a particular case. It should not be misunderstood that an injured or legal representatives of the deceased should be given exorbitant claim, but the law restrict them to be "just compensation" so as to save the injured or legal representatives of deceased from possible pecuniary and non-pecuniary losses guided by the above judgments.
hope you get clear now.
