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Old 22nd February 2021, 13:34   #31
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Re: Car owner liable to pay huge compensation to family of deceased passenger, who he gave a lift to

In reply to Srini ...

I think you are mixing up two things.

Statutory punishment, fine or imprisonment or both or whatever, is different from monetary compensation to the accident victims. Just to illustrate this point a little more, the fine would go to the government, not to the victims.

There are cases of rash and negligent driving that had no victims, and so no claims for compensation.

Similarly, there are several cases of compensation to victims even without any element of rash and negligent driving being involved.

So, instead of making sweeping generalizations, it would really help us all if we actually try to learn about the law.
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Old 22nd February 2021, 13:37   #32
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Quote:
Originally Posted by srini1785 View Post
As far as i know, insurance company are liable only up to the insured value of life even in case of accidents. I may be wrong too.
Almost all 3rd party covers state 7.5L as maximum coverage, but in case of death, courts have approved and made insurance companies pay much much higher amounts.
But yes, in case of personal insurance the company is liable only upto insured value.

In this case, what I don't understand, is, if the policeman wasn't covered under the 'unnamed passenger' clause, then he should have at least been covered under the 'third-party' clause.
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Old 22nd February 2021, 13:47   #33
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Re: Car owner liable to pay huge compensation to family of deceased passenger, who he gave a lift to

Quote:
Originally Posted by rdst_1 View Post

In this case, what I don't understand, is, if the policeman wasn't covered under the 'unnamed passenger' clause, then he should have at least been covered under the 'third-party' clause.
The victim was travelling in the vehicle, the victim was a gratuitous passenger and so it was a violation of the insurance policy - as claimed by the insurance company and upheld by the court. A bit of a conflict.

So the victim gets compensated, but the owner must make it good to the insurance company.

If the victim was not travelling in the vehicle, or was not proved to be a gratuitous one, the owner would have fared better.

Last edited by honeybee : 22nd February 2021 at 13:48.
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Old 22nd February 2021, 13:51   #34
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Re: Car owner liable to pay huge compensation to family of deceased passenger, who he gave a lift to

Quote:
Originally Posted by honeybee View Post
The victim was travelling in the vehicle, the victim was a gratuitous passenger and so it was a violation of the insurance policy - as claimed by the insurance company and upheld by the court. A bit of a conflict.

So the victim gets compensated, but the owner must make it good to the insurance company.

If the victim was not travelling in the vehicle, or was not proved to be a gratuitous one, the owner would have fared better.
Yeah, and one can argue that that makes him a third-party. Anyway, looks like it is time that people will start to take 'personal liability' insurance from now on, like many do in US.
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Old 22nd February 2021, 13:56   #35
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Re: Car owner liable to pay huge compensation to family of deceased passenger, who he gave a lift to

Quote:
Originally Posted by rdst_1 View Post
Yeah, and one can argue that that makes him a third-party. Anyway, looks like it is time that people will start to take 'personal liability' insurance from now on, like many do in US.
It does indeed, and that is why his kin get compensation.

But since the act of carrying a gratuitous passenger is a violation of the policy, the insurance company can recover the amount from the owner.
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Old 22nd February 2021, 14:16   #36
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Re: Car owner liable to pay huge compensation to family of deceased passenger, who he gave a lift to

is this a goods vehicle?
If its a goods vehicle supreme court has ruled that gratuitous passenger are not entitled to claim compensation.


If this is a car or non-goods van then the compensation should be paid by the insurance company. Various courts have ruled that gratuitous passengers should be considered as third party and compensation paid by insurance company. All details are further references are available on indiankanoon website and there are a huge number of cases if you search with "gratuitous passenger".
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Old 22nd February 2021, 20:23   #37
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Re: Car owner liable to pay huge compensation to family of deceased passenger, who he gave a lift to

Some lingering questions:

1) If the driver was really at fault for causing the death and the insurance company was off the hook since the insurance policy did not cover gratuitous passengers, then why should the insurance company pay in the first place?

2) What happens if the driver is unable to payback 65 lacs or arrange surety of the same amount to the insurance provider? Won't the insurance company then be saddled with a payout that was not its liability in the first place?

3) IIRC there is a SLP in the SC challenging the ability of the Motor Accidents Claims tribunal to award costs. https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/s...ng-cost-169741
If this verdict finds that the tribunal is not empowered to award costs, then what happens? Will the cops family repay the money to the driver? Of course, that verdict might be decades later, so I wouldn't hold my breath.

I think the one takeaway for me is that no more offering lifts, come what may. I simply don't have 65 lacs to spare on paying someone that I'm helping.
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Old 22nd February 2021, 20:34   #38
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Re: Car owner liable to pay huge compensation to family of deceased passenger, who he gave a lift to

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lalvaz View Post
Some lingering questions:

1) If the driver was really at fault for causing the death and the insurance company was off the hook since the insurance policy did not cover gratuitous passengers, then why should the insurance company pay in the first place?
Will try to answer this question with an analogy (I truly think this is not offtopic)

Suppose I purchased a health insurance when I am completely in good health.

Now, after having insurance, I start drinking (no offense to any one) and I get liver damaged and get operated.

Will insurance company not settle my claim? Can the insurance company say, I got liver damaged because of my fault (drinking) and hence, the claim cannot be settled?

So, whether the driver is at fault or not, if the vehicle is insured, the insurance company is bound to settle the claim.

Only possible scenario where it has rights to reject the claim is, if it can prove with evidence that the accident was done intentionally by the owner, with a motive of killing the deceased person and claiming insurance.

Last edited by gkveda : 22nd February 2021 at 20:36.
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Old 22nd February 2021, 22:20   #39
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Re: Car owner liable to pay huge compensation to family of deceased passenger, who he gave a lift to

Quote:
Originally Posted by gkveda View Post
Suppose I purchased a health insurance when I am completely in good health.

Now, after having insurance, I start drinking (no offense to any one) and I get liver damaged and get operated.

Will insurance company not settle my claim? Can the insurance company say, I got liver damaged because of my fault (drinking) and hence, the claim cannot be settled?
Yes.

Health Insurance companies deny any claim for a disease which is self inflicted. So your claim will be rejected if you have an Alcohol related liver disease.
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Old 22nd February 2021, 22:42   #40
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Re: Car owner liable to pay huge compensation to family of deceased passenger, who he gave a lift to

I'm almost certain the cop flagged the driver and got into the vehicle. Most drivers do not refuse to give cops a ride due to fear. If anything the cop must be held accountable for misuse of authority. But considering the cop is no more, it is extremely unfair to penalize the owner.
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Old 23rd February 2021, 00:11   #41
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Re: Car owner liable to pay huge compensation to family of deceased passenger, who he gave a lift to

Quote:
Originally Posted by knshailender View Post
I'm almost certain the cop flagged the driver and got into the vehicle. Most drivers do not refuse to give cops a ride due to fear. If anything the cop must be held accountable for misuse of authority. But considering the cop is no more, it is extremely unfair to penalize the owner.
You are almost certain without any evidence to back up the claim, so I think we can give benefit of doubt to the court which has had evidence made available to it to back up the claims of the litigants, no?

To the question as to why the insurance company has to pay and then recover: the victim still is a third party, so the insurance company must settle it. However the insurance company has been able to prove that the terms of the insurance contract were violated, and so it now has the right to recover the money from the owner.

As to what if the owner becomes bankrupt or doesn't have money to pay - let's not dig out all such questions which have no relevance to the point of discussion.
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Old 24th February 2021, 11:10   #42
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Re: Car owner liable to pay huge compensation to family of deceased passenger, who he gave a lift to

AFAIK, in standard insurance policies, there is no compensation awarded to occupants other than owner-driver or paid driver.

If you want to cover your passengers, you need to get an add on. It is IMT-16. EDIT - the only exception I could gather is if the driver has a Leaner's license and requires another person with a valid license in the car.

Here is a screenshot of my car's insurance. I always opt for the highest possible cover. As of now it it limited to 2L.
Name:  Screen Shot 20210224 at 10.56.36 AM.png
Views: 559
Size:  28.4 KB

A better idea is to take a personal accident policy for your occupants. A 1 crore policy will cost around Rs. 1000 bucks. A good idea to take and keep especially if you are planning to go out in your friends car or any other vehicle for that matter.

Last edited by blackwasp : 24th February 2021 at 11:13.
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Old 24th February 2021, 11:34   #43
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Re: Car owner liable to pay huge compensation to family of deceased passenger, who he gave a lift to

Quote:
Originally Posted by honeybee View Post
As I understand it, gratuitous passenger means someone who had no apparent reason to be in the vehicle, a stranger.

As for unnamed passengers, as long as one can prove they were non-paying ones, the insurance should cover them.

If people were being charged for a ride, it would be a violation of the insurance policy.
The case was filed by (so called) victim's family. In Indian legal system, the burdon of proof lies with prosecution/petitioner. I wonder how come victim's family proved that the said constable actually paid the driver for that ride in the court of law?

Because unless they prove this, there is no other way for any court or tribunal to refute driver's claim that the constable was given free ride.
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Old 24th February 2021, 11:36   #44
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Re: Car owner liable to pay huge compensation to family of deceased passenger, who he gave a lift to

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Originally Posted by nagr22 View Post
Thanks for the clarification. As per this, is it illegal to share the petrol expenses with friends if we are on a group trip on a non-commercial registered car? In this case, technically they are paying for the ride. How does our law treat this case?
It is not illegal, but your insurance will simply deny any claim once they know that you have used your car for driving for a "reward".

Here's one article where a ride-sharer was even arrested, but I don't know what was the outcome since it is not illegal by any means:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities...le24667394.ece

I got a call from Uber last year asking me if I wanted to register as a ride-sharer - something similar to QuickRide which was popular in Bangalore. Once I asked them what their position on insurance was, they simply said that they will get back to me on that and hung up. I never heard from them again.
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Old 24th February 2021, 12:18   #45
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Re: Car owner liable to pay huge compensation to family of deceased passenger, who he gave a lift to

Quote:
Originally Posted by honeybee View Post
Cops cannot commandeer someone's peraonal vehicle just like that. Even in case of an emergency such as cops trying to follow any criminals or suspects, a private citizen may deny use of his or her personal vehicle.

The only time cops can do so, IIRC is during election times, on specific orders of a competent authority like the DM or collector.

Also the FIR was most likely registered on the basis of situational evidence and eyewitness accounts. It was not challenged before any court of law, ao it is deemed that the FIR is correct and accurate. For someone to call the FIR as falsified, this has to be done with evidence and in a court, not through random and arbitrary generalization on a social forum.

So let's focus on the issue at hand, understanding the terms and conditions of the insurance policy, rather than venting out unsubstantiated personal frustrations.
Brother - no sure which world you live in but when it comes to a cop vs a commercial vehicle, the former has literally untrammeled authority in India. Your statement above is more about the world as it should be, not as it is.

As for FIR filings - less said the better. A shop owner got robbed recently and the local cop refused to file FIR as the building owner did not have CCTV installed and this would have led to problems for him.

Do read David Arnold’s history of colonial police in India. Not much has changed since then.
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