Not wearing helmet can’t be held as contributory negligence: Tamil Nadu court

CHENNAI: In case of a road accident death due to multiple injuries, the victim's failure to wear a helmet cannot be treated as "contributory negligence" and the family cannot be denied full compensation on the basis of that ground, the Madras high court has ruled.
Disposing of an appeal filed by an insurance company against the compensation awarded by a motor accident claims tribunal in Erode to the family of a 21-year-old engineering student, who died in 2010 after his motorcycle hit a bus, Justice N Anand Venkatesh reversed the tribunal's order slashing the compensation amount, noting that head injury was not the sole cause of death.
The tribunal had deducted a substantial amount from the compensation the family was entitled to, citing "contributory negligence" on part of the victim, as he was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.
Justice Venkatesh refused to concur with the tribunal's findings, and said it was evident from the postmortem report and the doctor's final opinion that head injury was not the sole cause of death. "When that is the case, non-wearing of helmet cannot be put against the deceased and contributory negligence cannot be attributed," the judge held, setting aside the tribunal's order.
While fixing the compensation amount, the tribunal had considered the victim's notional income to be Rs 12,000 per month. Pointing out that the tribunal had failed to consider the victim's future prospects, the HC ruled that 40% of the notional income must be added towards future prospects, and ordered that the monthly pay of the student must be considered to be Rs 16,800. The court also granted Rs 1.2 lakh for loss of love and affection towards the family.