motor accident claim

A motor accident claim is filed before the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal (MACT) under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 by the injured person, the owner of damaged property, or the legal representatives of a deceased victim. The main route is a fault-based claim under s.166, where negligence of the driver must be shown; compensation is assessed on loss of income (with multipliers and future prospects), loss of dependency and conventional heads.

Since the 2019 amendment, a fixed no-fault sum is payable under s.164 as an alternative, and hit-and-run victims are paid under s.161. The insurer of the vehicle is liable to pay third-party claims.

Example

In the motor accident claim, the tribunal applied the Sarla Verma multiplier and added future prospects under Pranay Sethi.

In Indian law

• Sections 164, 165 and 166, Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (as amended in 2019)
• Sarla Verma v. Delhi Transport Corporation, 2009 INSC 506: multiplier table
• National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi, 2017 INSC 1068: future prospects and conventional heads

See also

no-fault liability · negligence · tribunal · damages

Read more in the study notes

• Judicial power of the administration: quasi-judicial functions and administrative adjudication (Administrative Law)
• Need for ADR, international commitments and suitability of disputes (Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems)
• Negotiation: meaning, styles and approaches (Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems)
• The equipment of the lawyer and the seven lamps of advocacy (Professional Ethics)