LI Network
Published on: October 28, 2023 at 17:05 IST
The Karnataka High Court has ruled that no contributory negligence can be assigned to a deceased driver involved in an accident with a negligently parked vehicle on a National Highway.
The case in question was brought before the court by the insurance company Future Gen India INS Co Ltd, challenging a tribunal’s order to pay compensation of Rs 8,74,000 to the claimants of the deceased, Sadique Hussain.
The accident occurred on 25.11.2014, when the deceased was riding a motorcycle on the Solapur – Vijayapur road. A tractor with two trailers was parked on the road without proper indicators or precautions, particularly at night. The motorcycle rider failed to notice the parked tractor-trailer, resulting in a fatal collision.
The insurance company contended that as the tractor-trailers were insured with different insurers, the tribunal should have allocated liability to the insurer of the trailer as well. They argued that negligence couldn’t be attributed to the driver of the tractor-trailer solely because the tractor-trailers were parked on the road. They insisted that specific evidence was required to prove that the accident occurred despite the deceased taking adequate care while riding.
Justice Ravi V Hosmani, sitting as a single judge, referred to Regulation 15(1) of the Road Regulation 1989, which prohibits parking motor vehicles on the road without taking proper precautions.
Furthermore, the accident took place on a national highway, where vehicles typically travel at high speeds. Consequently, the court determined that without specific evidence regarding precautionary measures taken by the tractor-trailer driver, the tribunal was justified in attributing the entire negligence to the driver while absolving the motorcycle rider of negligence.
Regarding the apportionment of liability, the court acknowledged that trailers cannot move independently and are towed by tractors. The tribunal had held the insurer of the tractor liable to pay the full compensation, in accordance with the law.
As a result, the court dismissed the appeal.
Case title: Future Gen. India Ins. Co. Ltd AND Zeenath Begum & Others.