The Supreme Court has clarified that the right to claim compensation in motor accident cases does not end if the injured victim later dies due to reasons unrelated to the accident. In such circumstances, the legal heirs of the victim can step in and continue the claim petition.
A bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Pankaj Mithal observed that the Motor Vehicles Act recognizes the survival of such claims, and compensation must be determined on the basis of the victim’s injuries and losses, even if death occurred subsequently from another cause.
The Court explained that while the claim for personal injury may not include compensation linked to death unrelated to the accident, the legal heirs are entitled to pursue the case for losses suffered by the victim due to the accident itself.
The judgment underlined that otherwise, the wrongdoer would escape liability merely because the victim died of unrelated reasons during the pendency of proceedings. This would, in the Court’s view, defeat the very purpose of the legislation, which is to provide just and fair compensation to accident victims and their families.
Accordingly, the Court allowed the continuation of the compensation proceedings by the legal heirs and directed the concerned tribunal to assess the claim on its merits
