Procedure for motor vehicles accident

recently my very younger brother has died on the spot in a road by the truck (damper) from back side and ran away at mid night while he is going by his m/cycle & next day truck has caught by the police. So, could you let me know what the things should I do & what is the procedure to take claim while truck is in insurance period? Please help me I am not very aware about that. Thank you!

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I am very sorry for your loss, sir.

 

A motor accident has two facets, one is the commission of criminal offence and the other is compensation claim. The person responsible for causing the accident by negligent driving is liable to be booked for criminal offence, and further liable to pay compensation to the victim. However, if the vehicle is insured, insurance company will pay.

 

Compensation:

To claim compensation you have to file a separate petition under Motor Vehicle Act in the Motor Accident Claim Tribunal.

 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.

Who can claim compensation:

According to Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act,1988[1] ,compensation can be claimed  –

1. By the person who has sustained injury;

2. By the owner of the damaged property;

3. By all or any legal representative of the deceased who died in the accident;

4. By duly authorised agent of the injured person or all or any of the legal representatives of the deceased who died in the accident.

How and Where can compensation be claimed

Claim Petition can be filed[2]

With the Claims Tribunal having jurisdiction over the area in which the accident occurred or,

With the Claims Tribunal within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the claimant resides, or carries on business or,

Within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the defendant resides

The prescribed format of the Claims Petition by Courts of Delhi and documents required while filing Claim Petition can be found here.

Insurer is also a party to the Claims case. Section 146 of the Act makes it compulsory for the owner of the vehicle to get his vehicle insured against third party risk. Insurance has been made compulsory and non-compliance with Section 146 has been made punishable with imprisonment, or fine, or both (Section 196).

Also kindly look into who is the owner of the truck. The Act imposes “no fault liability” on the owner of the motor vehicle in accidents which lead to death. No fault liability is when the liability of paying compensation is imposed on the owner of the motor vehicles even if no fault exists in relation to the accident being examined by the court. The compensation to be paid in case of no fault liability[3] is-

-> Rs 50000 in case of Death.

-> Rs 25000 in case of permanent disablement.

 

 

Criminal case:

Here, a case is registered by the Local Police. In your case Section 304 A of the Indian Penal Code which provides for offences relating to death due to negligence, could be applied. The State has to prove that the accident took place with this truck and that he was 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.

 


[1] https://indiankanoon.org/doc/136948773/

[2]

[3] Section 140(2)

Answered on October 6, 2016.
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