New Delhi, Dec 01: A person who dies of cardiac
arrest following a mishap is entitled to accidental insurance
claim, the Delhi Consumer Commission has held.
"If any person meets with an accident including vehicular
accident and if death occurs due to myocardial infarction
consequent to coronary artery disease, he is entitled for the
accident claim benefit," Commission President Justice J D
Kapoor said.
The Commission dismissed the plea of Life Insurance
Corporation (LIC) of India that the insured was not entitled
to the double of the sum assured as he died of cardiac ailment
which was not part of accident insurance coverage.
Rejecting the LIC's appeal against an order of a district
forum, the panel also comprising member Rumnita Mittal said
that merely because insured Jagdish Lal was a heart patient,
it cannot be held that he did not die due to accident.
The Commission did not find any substance in the plea
that the dependents of the insured cannot be compensated as
accident was caused due to his negligence as per the FIR.
"Merely because an FIR was lodged with the police, it
does not mean that the accident did not take place or that he
has been held guilty for having driven the car rashly," it
said, adding, "accident is an accident."
Lal's widow Veena Dhingra was forced to approach the
district forum after the LIC denied her accidental claim of Rs
50,000.
The forum had on September 14, 2006 directed the
insurance company to pay Rs 63,000 including the compensation
to Dhingra after holding that her husband's death was duly
covered under the policy.
The panel, upholding the forum's order, directed the LIC
to pay the amount to Dhingra, a resident of Tri Nagar here
within a month.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, December 01, 2008, 00:00