Lok Adalat: Kin of IT employee get Rs 4.50 cr compensation for his death in accident

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.