KARACHI: A senior civil judge has ordered the driver and owner of a water tanker to pay Rs. 5 million to an accident victim who lost both of his legs in 2018 as a result of the driver’s careless and reckless conduct.
In a lawsuit brought before Senior Civil Judge (South) Ghulam Abbas Memon under the applicable section of the Civil Procedure Code, the plaintiff, Abbas Ali Shah, who was injured in the accident, sought damages from the defendants, driver Fayyaz Shah and owner Zahid Ghulam Nabi, of the water tanker, in the amount of Rs. 15 million.
Following the hearing and recording of the evidence, the court ordered the driver and owner of the water truck to reimburse the plaintiff for damages and losses in the amount of Rs. 5 million, with an annual markup of 10%, within 30 days.
“The uncontested record and the parties’ evidence lead to the conclusion that the incident occurred [on] January 18, 2018, as a result of the defendants’ negligence, killing one Kashan and injuring another. It is a well-established legal stance that the injured party’s predicted and current earning capacity is used to determine damages in cases of fatal accidents. The wounded party’s age, the beneficiary, and the amount of personal expenses are crucial factors to take into account, the court stated.
During the arguments, the defense attorney for the prisoner entered a plea, claiming that the police had wrongfully accused him in this case and that the client had denied providing them with a bribe over a disagreement about a monthly bribe. The FIR had been filed against an unidentified driver and car. Additionally, he asserted that the motorist had a current driver’s license.
The plaintiff’s attorney accused the plaintiff of being negligent by failing to wear a helmet when riding his motorcycle on the day of the accident, which happened near Sharea Faisal, a location with constant high traffic.
Nevertheless, the court turned down their requests and pointed out that the case’s investigating officer had told the judge that the driver had stated that the tanker’s breaks had failed when he was taken into custody.
The IO clarified, nevertheless, that the forensic report showed the breaks were not failed.
