Summary: Recently, the Madras High Court decided on a road accident case involving Shriram General Insurance Co. Ltd. and G.M. Vasantha. The court changed the compensation amount for the victim's family, sharing the blame between the two drivers involved in the accident.
On June 6, 2014, Mr. Krishnamoorthy, who worked at Euro Clothing Company, sadly died in a road accident. He was riding his scooter when another bike, driven carelessly, crashed into him. This caused Mr. Krishnamoorthy to fall onto the road, where a truck ran over him, leading to fatal injuries.
Mr. Krishnamoorthy's family, including his wife G.M. Vasantha and their children, asked for compensation. The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal in Gudiyattam decided that both the bike and truck drivers were equally careless. On October 1, 2020, they awarded the family ₹58,62,500, with 7.5% yearly interest, to be paid by the insurance companies of both vehicles.
Both Shriram General Insurance Co. Ltd., insuring the truck, and Bharathi AXA General Insurance Co. Ltd., insuring the bike, appealed the decision. They argued that the carelessness was not equally shared. Shriram's lawyer, Mr. S. Dhaksnamoorthy, claimed the bike was more to blame. Bharathi AXA's lawyer, Mr. S. Arun Kumar, argued that the truck was mainly at fault.
The court, led by Justices C.V. Karthikeyan and K. Kumaresh Babu, looked into the claims. They noted that Mr. Krishnamoorthy's real monthly income was ₹25,000, not ₹29,032 as claimed by his family. The court adjusted the future income prospects to 40% instead of the 50% used by the tribunal, lowering the total compensation to ₹54,80,000.
The court agreed that both drivers shared responsibility but changed the compensation amount. Both insurance companies must pay the adjusted amount with interest from the date of the original claim.
