Pankaj Ramesh Shedge, who was a senior employee of an IT company located at Irvine in California of the USA, earned an annual salary of USD 110,000. On December 9, 2022, when he was going on his scooter on Panvel-Mumbra Road, he was hit by a truck, which ultimately resulted in his death
Mumbai/Thane: The National Lok Adalat held in Maharashtra’s Thane district on Saturday settled a death claim by ordering compensation of Rs 4.50 crore to the relatives of a man who was killed in a road accident in 2022.
Pankaj Ramesh Shedge, who was a senior employee of an IT company located at Irvine in California of the USA, earned an annual salary of USD 110,000. On December 9, 2022, when he was going on his scooter on Panvel-Mumbra Road, he was hit by a truck, which ultimately resulted in his death.
The family sought a compensation of Rs 30 crore from the insurance company.
Advocate G A Vinod, who represented the claimants, emphasized the emotional and financial devastation the family faced due to the loss of their primary breadwinner. The insurance company settled the claim for Rs 4.50 crore.
Apart from this case, claims of different amounts, including Rs 1.33 crore, Rs 75 lakh, Rs 65.40 lakh, Rs 62 lakh and Rs 56.80 lakh were settled during the Lok Adalat.
The settlement cheques were presented to the claimants during a formal ceremony attended by District Judge A N Sirsikar, Chief Judicial Magistrate S K Fokmare, member of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) S N Shah and District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) Secretary I K Suryavanshi.
A claim of Rs 1.33 crore for the death of Sushil Mohan Sawant was also settled at the Lok Adalat.
Sawant, a 46-year-old manager at a computer firm, was commuting to work when a bus hit his motorcycle, resulting in his death in March last year. His family members demanded a compensation of Rs 2 crore from the insurance company.
A competition has emerged between insurance companies to expedite settlements in accident cases in Maharashtra’s Thane district, an official from the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) said.
The trend has given relief to victims’ families and reduced the burden on the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT), the official said.
Ishwar Suryavanshi, DLSA secretary, described the competition as a positive trend that benefits claimants and insurers and reduces court backlogs, allowing better management of other legal matters.
Recently, record settlements were achieved, including a claim of Rs 4.50 crore and another for Rs 1.33 crore, surpassing the previous record of Rs 2.80 crore set during the last Lokadalat.
As many as 217 MACT claims, involving more than Rs 26.80 crore, were settled in the district during the Lok Adalat on Saturday.
Suryavanshi commended efforts taken by the insurance companies and their counsels and expressed confidence that this healthy comp