Motor vehicle accidents are most of the time considered to be at fault of the riders/bike riders, considering them reckless. But that might not always be the case. In fact, much contrastingly, there have been more hit-and-run cases where motorcyclists have been severely injured. Rather than being considerate about the damages and life loss they often are at risk of bearing, they are treated as the ones to blame. For such times filing a motorcycle accident lawsuit can be of support.
Do you actually hold a grasp of the legal face of motorcycle accident lawsuits? If not, then make sure to go through this article.
Table of Contents
Motorcycle Accident Lawsuit
Motor vehicle accidents have reportedly spiked up in the past years. That’s why insights on filing a motorcycle accident lawsuit can be of your assistance, provided that you own a two-wheeler.
In India, motor vehicle accidents come under the governance of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, altogether with the regulations of Motor Accidents Claims Tribunals (M.A.C.T.). To cut it short for you, two scenarios arise when any such case happens:
- Damage to others’ health and property.
- Damage to one’s own health and property.
Why Do You Need A Motorcycle Accident Lawsuit?
At times when you come across a motor vehicle accident, it becomes quite obvious that if you’ve borne the loss (bodily or property), you’ll most probably file a suit to recover it when you aren’t at fault or at least for the part of the fault that clearly isn’t from your side. In general, the Motorcycle accident cases that come under the surveillance of M.A.C.T. arise in the under-stated scenarios:
- You or the other party don’t possess a valid insurance cover or driving license.
- When one or all the parties involved in the accident are found to be travelling through the illicit side.
- If any or all the involved parties were under the influence of any prohibited drugs.
- If any or all the parties involved in the accident were minors.
Prerequisites Of Motorcycle Accident Lawsuit
The first thing that pops up in mind in case of a road accident is the chronological procedure that has to be followed so that fair compensation can be ascertained. If it’s your fault, you have to reimburse, or else, if the other party is at fault, you have the right to claim it. Sounds quite simple, right? Well, it’s not that easy to catch. Read through the article to know about that, but first things first…..
For moving ahead, the claimant must possess the below-listed documents:
- Copy of F.I.R.
- Copy of Valid Driving License or Learning License (in case of a minor).
- Copy of Medico-Legal Case certificate (M.L.C.) or death certificate depending upon the case.
- The original record of the amount expunged as treatment expenses.
- In case of death of the motorcyclist, an affidavit stating the relationship between the deceased and heirs/kin.
- Copy of Income Certificate of the injured or deceased party.
- Identity Proof of the injured or deceased party and kin (if required).
So far, the history of such lawsuits suggests that having a legal advisor by your side can escalate the success chances on your part.
Factors Affecting Motorcycle Accident Lawsuits
-
Time:
The time factor plays a crucial role when we talk of filing a motorcycle accident lawsuit. You can’t file such a claim after a year or so simply because that isn’t reasonable at all. Therefore, a reasonable time frame boundation must be followed without being said or mentioned.
-
Severity Of The Accident:
The compensation amount prescribed by the M.A.C.T. varies as per the level of severity of the case, depending upon the actual loss (permanent incapacity to work/death/short-time injuries).
-
Age Of The Parties Involved:
The age of the involved parties is quite a notable piece of information here.
-
Type Of Insurance:
The types of insurance you’ve opted for play a significant role in determining how much compensation you’ll be provided with.
-
Record Of Medical Expenses:
The medical bills record speaks for itself, and then the difference between the amount actually spent and the amount demanded is analyzed bit by bit. Obviously, one can’t demand three lakhs if the record bill shows the expunges amounting to thirty thousand.
Who Will Be Liable To Pay The Claim In Case Of A Motorcycle Accident?
This is the most arguable question which keeps the parties involved in a motor vehicle accident on the hook. Irrespective of the fact that the actual culprit acknowledges his/her offence or negligence, the insurance company is held liable in most cases. It must be noted that as per the Motor Vehicle Act 1988, having third-party insurance is mandatory in India.
Now, whether the culprit party did or didn’t possess a valid insurance cover at the time of the accident is something that you perhaps aren’t aware of. So if there isn’t any valid insurance, then the onus of claim automatically gets transferred to the owner of the vehicle. Now, what if the owner refuses to pay the claim? That’s exactly where the M.A.C.T. Pilot Courts appear in the picture to decide and pass on a fair verdict.
Another question, who would you ask for the compensation if you couldn’t see or fetch details of the at-fault party, like in a hit and run case? Here, the Enquiry Officer would reckon the compensation amount depending upon the case and its severity, and the amount has to be paid out of the Solatium Fund that is primarily created under the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 for this purpose.
The claimant needs to submit the required forms within a period of 6 months. However, if the legit reason was there for the delay, it can be submitted within 12 months, but the Enquiry Officer holds power to decide upon it.
Such a payment is generally made within a 15-days time frame after the tribunal or court passes the order.
What Is No-Fault Liability In A Motor Vehicle Accident Suit?
No-Fault liability in a motorcycle accident lawsuit is the case where the owner of the vehicle has to pay the compensation even without being at any accountability or fault (Section-140, Motor Vehicles Act). The monetary compensation for the same is as follows:
- If the accident leads to death: 50,000 INR
- If the accident leads to permanent disablement: 25,000 INR
Okay, let’s consider a scenario so that it would be easy to understand what actually No-Fault Liability is. Let’s say Party A had purchased a car from Party B, but the documents, including the vehicle’s R.C., were yet to be fully transferred in the name of Party A due to some reasonable grounds. Now Party A was using the car, and it sent some goods in it with a driver (whom here we’ll suppose to be Party C). The driver wasn’t aware of the facts regarding the car documentation.
Now there was an accident in which Party D, a motorcyclist, was injured and demanded compensation for the same from Party C, that here is- the driver. And the driver refused to pay for it as the car didn’t belong to him directly in the first place.
In this case, Party D can file a motorcycle accident lawsuit seeking compensation from the car owner. The case would be brought under the Authorized Pilot Court of the region under the M.A.C.T. Now under this situation, there are a plethora of things that have to be thought of here among the under-stated major observations:
- Firstly, it’s quite obvious that Party A had to have the documents and only then should have used the car.
- Secondly, Party C- the driver should have enquired about the documents.
Respective of the above-stated facts, both Party A & C have been guilty on their part but not to the fuller extent.
Now, in such a case, the tribunal has the power to decide who would compensate, taking into account the severity of the case, among other things such as the type of insurance cover, age of the parties involved, and faulty road structure and extraordinary circumstances.
In such a case, the liability would be shifted to Party A only if Party B can present the Sale Letter before the tribunal/court. This is so because that is the only situation that proves that Party A was the owner of the car at the time of the accident.
If not, then perhaps the tribunal can order combined compensation if it feels that’s the most appropriate judgement. Such cases are dealt with a no-fault liability pattern, i.e., a party may or may not be at fault wholly and solely, but they still have to compensate.
So far, we’ve discussed several aspects of the motorcycle accident lawsuit. But if a motorcyclist is at fault, for instance, he/she is driving under the influence of a prohibited drug, driving in the wrong lane, or driving without a valid driving or learning license, he/she doesn’t have any right to file the motorcycle accident lawsuit in the first place.