Bengaluru: If a driver on duty dies following a cardiac arrest while taking rest in his vehicle, the insurance company is not absolved of its liability to pay compensation on the grounds that the vehicle was not under usage, the Dharwad bench of the high court has observed.
“Usage of the vehicle does not mean that at the time of his death, the driver needs to necessarily be driving. But in casual connection with his employment, he was sleeping in the truck and, while taking rest, suffered a heart attack,” Justice HP Sandesh noted in his order in reference to the death of one Eranna in 2008.
A resident of Guledagudda in Badami taluk of Bagalkot district, Eranna was employed as a truck driver. He was taking rest near Idya village, Surathkal, by halting in the vehicle, when he suffered a heart attack and died. His wife Shankaramma then moved the commissioner under the Workmen’s Compensation Act. On August 20, 2009, an order was passed, directing payment of Rs 3,03,620 with 12% interest as compensation. The order was challenged by National Insurance Company Limited, the insurer of the vehicle.
The insurer contended that Eranna’s death was on account of cardiac failure. It said the owner had also lodged a complaint stating that the driver was in the habit of getting drunk and when he was consuming alcohol, there was no liability on the employer to pay compensation. The claimants argued that no material was placed regarding consumption of alcohol.
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