Mumbai: In a significant order relating to the death of a man six years after a motor vehicular accident, a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal has held that his passing can be treated as caused by the accident when medical records show a continuous chain of treatment, infection and complications from the same injury. The tribunal awarded a total compensation of approximately Rs 61.1 lakh (inclusive of interest) to the family of a 38-year-old security supervisor, earning Rs 14,000 a month, who suffered leg injuries after a private cab rammed into his two-wheeler from behind in 2014. He died in 2020 from persistent infections due to the injuries.Rejecting the insurer’s defence, the tribunal relied heavily on the treating orthopaedic surgeon’s testimony, which confirmed the terminal cardiac arrest was a direct result of septicaemia originating from the old injuries. Ruling on the causation dispute, the tribunal noted, “The chain of causation has not been broken merely by the passage of time. On the contrary, the medical records bridge that interval.”The tribunal directed SMS Taxi Cabs Pvt Ltd, the owner of the taxi, and Reliance General Insurance Co Ltd, the insurer, to pay the amount jointly and severally.The victim Ashish Gupta had originally filed the compensation claim in 2018 while still alive. Following his death, his family amended the petition, claiming the accident ultimately killed him. Gupta was riding a motorcycle near Deepak Hospital, Mira Road–Bhayander signal, Mira Road East, around 3.30 am on Dec 20, 2014, when a taxi allegedly hit his vehicle. The tribunal accepted his family’s case that the taxi was driven rashly and negligently. The crash was reported to Navghar police station, and the police papers identified the motorcycle, the taxi and the driver. The tribunal noted that the first medical record was from the same date and showed traumatic injuries from a road traffic accident.Gupta suffered a severe compound fracture of the left tibia and fibula with a major bone defect. The tribunal recorded that the treatment involved skin grafting, bone grafting and other reconstructive procedures. Gupta remained admitted at BYL Nair Hospital from the date of the accident until April 27, 2016, and was repeatedly hospitalised in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and Jan 2020.During the pendency of the claim, Gupta died on July 30, 2020, at Maa Sita Hospital and Fracture Clinic in Mirzapur. The petition was amended to claim that the death was caused by complications from the 2014 accident injuries.The insurer disputed the causal link, arguing that nearly five years and seven months had passed between the accident and death. The insurer also relied on the death certificate’s reference to cardio-respiratory arrest, absence of a post-mortem exam and alleged lack of proof connecting the death to the accident.The tribunal framed the central question as whether the applicants had proved “a legally sufficient causal nexus” between the 2014 injuries and the 2020 death. The tribunal held that the time gap could not be viewed in isolation.The tribunal relied heavily on the medical records showing prolonged treatment of the same injured limb. The records showed non-union of the tibia, bone defect, repeated surgeries and continuing disability. The tribunal also noted that the govt disability material assessed permanent physical impairment at about 60% while a later orthopaedic assessment recorded deformity, extensive scarring, gross restriction of movement, five-inch shortening and dependence on a brace.A key witness was orthopaedic surgeon Sacchidanand Pathak, who treated Gupta during the final admission. Pathak stated that Gupta was admitted on July 28, 2020, in a critical condition with septicaemia associated with the longstanding infected injuries to the left leg. The tribunal recorded that Pathak accepted cardio-respiratory arrest as the immediate terminal event but explained that the arrest occurred due to septicaemia arising from the accident injuries.
