Thane MACT awards Rs 44.13 lakh compensation to kin of man crushed to death by crane
The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Maharashtra’s Thane district has granted a compensation of Rs 44.13 lakh to the family of a 46-year-old man who died after a JCB crane crashed into a motorcycle in 2020.
Tribunal member RV Mohite directed the crane owner and the insurer New India Assurance Co. Ltd. to jointly and severally pay the compensation with 9 per cent interest per annum from the date of the petition. A copy of the order passed on March 24 was made available on Friday.
The accident occurred on February 5, 2020, when the victim, Prabhakar Bajrangi Sharma, was riding pillion on a motorcycle and a speeding JCB crane first dashed into a pedestrian and then hit the two-wheeler and ran over him.
Sharma, who was employed as an assistant manager in an automobile firm, sustained serious injuries and died during treatment at a hospital in Navi Mumbai.
The vehicle owner and the insurance company contended before the tribunal that the motorcyclist had been negligent. However, it rejected these claims, citing a lack of evidence.
“The evidence on record shows that the operator of the offending vehicle (crane) was driving it in a rash and negligent manner,” the tribunal stated, observing that there was nothing on record to show any contributory act on the part of the deceased. The insurance company sought to avoid liability by claiming the crane operator did not have a valid licence for the vehicle. The tribunal dismissed this technicality, noting that the unladen weight of the JCB was 7,460 kg, falling under the Light Motor Vehicle (LMV) category.
The tribunal awarded Rs 44.13 lakh compensation to the deceased man’s wife and three sons.
