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Negligent worker too gets damages

Death or injury resulting from negligence of a worker in the course of employment is no reason to deny compensation under the Employees Compensation Act, the Supreme Court asserted in the case, Jaya Biswal vs IFFCO Tokio General Insurance. Negligence is a factor under the Motor Vehicles Act, but not relevant in the Employees Compensation Act. In this case, a young truck driver died in an accident. His dependants approached the Commissioner of Compensation. He awarded Rs 10.75 lakh. The insurance company appealed to the Odisha high court. It reduced the compensation by half, "in the interest of justice". The parents appealed to the Supreme Court. It castigated the high court for reducing the amount by merely claiming that it was in the interest of justice. The apex court awarded Rs 11 lakh with 12 per cent interest. Moreover, the court stated that "in light of the unnecessary litigation and hardship of the dependants in spending on litigation to get the compensation we deem it fit to award them Rs 25,000 as costs."

 Article referred: http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/mediation-by-expert-body-better-sc-116021400757_1.html

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