Tribunal cuts victim's compensation by 30 per cent for not wearing helmet at the time of accident

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Motor Accident Claims Tribunal docked 30 per cent for not wearing a helmet, awarding only Rs 1.02 crore (with interest) compensation instead of Rs 1.46 crore to the widow, children, and mother of a 38-year-old Andheri man who died in 2014 after a truck rammed into his bike at Powai. As per a TOI report, the decision was based on the fact that the biker was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.

While the tribunal acknowledged the negligent driving of the truck driver, it also highlighted that the biker's failure to follow safety rules played a role in the incident. The tribunal's analysis indicated that no helmet was found at the accident scene, and independent witnesses did not observe any signs of a helmet.

Therefore, the tribunal concluded that the biker's failure to adhere to safety regulations contributed to the accident and, consequently, reduced the compensation by 30%. The compensation amount had been initially calculated at approximately Rs 95.23 lakh (without interest), factoring in various components such as loss of future income, spousal consortium, parental consortium, filial consortium, loss of estate, and funeral expenses.

However, due to the attributed contributory negligence, the tribunal adjusted the compensation to Rs 65.96 lakh. The compensation will be distributed among the family members of the deceased victim, Satyaprakash Singh.

His wife, Komal Singh (38), will receive 70% of the compensation, while the remaining amount will be divided equally between his mother, Surjadevi Singh (73), and his children, Kusum Singh (18) and Ishan Singh (14). The case was brought before the tribunal on January 21, 2015, by the victim's family, who sought compensation from the truck owner, SR Metal Works,