145;Heart attack during mishap amounts to accidental death146;

If a man dies of a heart attack in a road mishap, an insurance company is duty bound to pay his family the additional cash benefits as mentioned under the clause 8220;accidental death benefits8221;, the Delhi Consumer Commission has ruled.

If a man dies of a heart attack in a road mishap, an insurance company is duty bound to pay his family the additional cash benefits as mentioned under the clause 8220;accidental death benefits8221;, the Delhi Consumer Commission has ruled.

Repudiating the plea of the Life Insurance Corporation LIC of India that such a death cannot be termed 8216;accidental8217;, the Commission8217;s President Justice J D Kapoor ruled that the technical clause in this regard must be interpreted in favour of the consumers and not otherwise, as the same would defeat the purpose of the Consumer Protection Act.

In September 2006, the LIC was directed by the forum to pay an additional sum of Rs 63,000, apart from the regular insurance benefits, to Veena Dhingra, wife of Jagdish Lal.

Lal who had died due to a coronary artery problem after meeting with an accident in January 2004.

The LIC then approached the commission and contended that Lal8217;s wife was not entitled to the additional benefit as the accident had taken place due to Lal8217;s own negligence.

The commission, however, noted that for the purpose of awarding compensation, an accident should strictly mean 8220;an unfortunate event, especially one causing physical harm or damage8221;.

8220;If any person meets with an accident, including vehicular accident, and if death occurs due to myocardial infraction consequent to a coronary artery disease, precipitated during vehicular accident, it amounts to accidental death. The insured is thus entitled to accident claim benefits,8221; held Justice Kapoor in a recent decision.

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Rejecting the LIC8217;s appeal against a consumer forum8217;s order, the commission said that in such cases, because the death is precipitated as a result of the accident, the insurance company cannot be allowed to claim that the death was not due to the mishap and thus deprive the victim8217;s kin to additional benefits.