The now 27-year-old woman had sought Rs25 lakh compensation after a car ran over her foot on this road in Worl... Read More

MUMBAI: If you walk on the road instead of the footpath, you cannot absolve yourself of responsibility if a vehicle hits you. A Motor Accidents' Claims Tribunal has held a now 27-year-old CA accountable for 25% contributory negligence after a speeding car dashed her and ran over her foot on a Worli road in 2011.

She had sought compensation of Rs 25 lakh for the injuries and six months' bed rest but the tribunal calculated the payout to only Rs 5.14 lakh. Deducting Rs 1.28 lakh towards contributory negligence, it or dered Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Ltd and car owner, Devidas Raimalani , to pay her only Rs 3.85 lakh. The car owner and insurance firm will also have to pay her Rs 2 lakh as interest on the amount.

The woman, in her cross examination before the tribunal, had claimed there was no footpath close to where she was walking. But the tribunal referred to the panchnama by cops after the FIR was registered. The panchnama showed that the spot on the road was three feet from the footpath. "There is no doubt that to the side of the road there was a footpath, but the petitioner was not using the footpath for her own safety for walking. On the contrary, she was walking on the tar road itself. Therefore, certainly, there was some negligence on the part of the petitioner," the tribunal held.

Pinning rest of the blame on the driver, it said that as the road was crowded, it was his duty to drive cautiously and maintain adequate distance from the woman.

Among various heads used to calculate the compensation, the tribunal included Rs 1lakh towards loss of prospects of marriage. It noted that as she had to limp after the accident, her marriage prospects had been adversely affected. "Even if in the near future she succeeds in settling marriage, certainly she will be required to ma ke compromises with the circumstances. Therefore, she is entitled to receive additional special damages for loss of prospects of married life," the tribunal held.

The woman had submitted that on January 4, 2011, at 2.05pm, when walking with her co-worker in front of Nehru Centre auditorium, the speeding car came from behind, without blowing its horn, and dashed her. The woman stated that she was admitted to a South Mumbai hospital for six days and sustained fractures on her left foot. She said doctors had to perform a procedure to realign her bones. She contended that she was 20 at the time of the mishap, doing her TYBCom and pursuing her CA course. She said that she had become permanently disabled and for about a year later she had to go to her workplace by cab.

