The highest monetary compensation will not rebuild his life, observed the Bombay high court while enhancing compensation to over Rs 1 crore for a man who was left paraplegic after sustaining multiple injuries in a November 2004 road accident.
“Monetary compensation, however high, cannot rebuild the life of the victim or reduce his physical or mental trauma. It cannot restore the shattered dreams of the spouse, bring back lost childhood of the children or relieve the agony of the parents of seeing their child in a vegetative state,” said Justice Anuja Prabhudessai in her September 19 verdict, allowing the 2012 appeal of Yogesh Panchal, who was 26 years old at the time of the accident.
He suffered 100 percent permanent disability after a dumper dashed the rear side of his motorcycle. In 2009, Motor Accidents Claim Tribunal awarded him Rs 48 lakh compensation with 7.5 % interest. Justice Prabhudessai enhanced it to Rs 64 lakh. She excluded Rs 23 lakh for future expenditure and directed that he is entitled to 7.5% interest on over Rs 41 lakh from the date of claim application (in 2005) till final realisation. She dismissed the appeal of The Oriental Insurance Co Ltd.
Panchal worked as a metal cutter earning Rs 1.70 lakh yearly. After his accident, he underwent several surgeries, including stem cell therapy and a spine stabilisation procedure, and incurred huge medical expenses. He is totally bedridden and dependent on others.
The judge noted that paraplegia, which is a form of paralysis of the lower body, impairs physical, mental and psychological health, and has devastating impact on social and financial well being of the victim
It also impacts the marital life of the spouse, who inevitably becomes the main caretaker, deprives children of guidance and affection of the parent and puts infirm parents in a helpless situation.
Insurance claim will be rejected if you don’t have a valid PUC certificate
As per Supreme court rulings: “The Government of India has made the PUC certificate compulsory for all vehicles under the Central Motor Vehicles Rule of 1989,” said Nitin Deo, chief technical officer, Edelweiss General Insurance. Therefore, the IRDAI has asked insurers not to insure a vehicle without a valid PUC certificate.
“Vehicle owners will be required to present a valid PUC certificate when renewing their insurance, according to the IRDAI notification. As per law, no vehicle may operate without third-party insurance, a rule that is frequently broken due to lax enforcement. The IRDAI decision is based on a Supreme Court judgement which stated that insurers cannot insure a car unless it has an effective PUC certificate on the date of policy renewal,” said Sanjiv Bajaj, Jt. chairman and MD, Bajaj Capital Ltd. However, this does not mean your insurance claim will be rejected if you don’t have a valid PUC certificate.
New KYC norms: In November, the newly-introduced KYC norm for easing the insurance claim settlement process has nothing to do with the PUC certificate.
“There is no such update yet. IRDAI released a circular on 26 August 2020 after they observed that some media reports misrepresented the earlier circular issued by the regulator. Thus, in August 2020, IRDAI clarified that if you don’t hold a valid PUC certificate, it doesn’t mean that it is a valid reason for denying claim under a motor insurance policy,” said Deo.
