Claiming compensationमुआवज़े का दावा

There are two separate routes for compensation after a road accident in India. Both can run in parallel.भारत में सड़क दुर्घटना के बाद मुआवज़े के दो अलग रास्ते हैं। दोनों एक साथ चल सकते हैं।

Compensation at MACT is a fixed calculation, not a negotiation. One missing step in that calculation cost one family about ₹16 lakh. See how compensation is worked out, and what a lawyer can charge.

Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal (MACT)

MACT is the main route for compensation from the vehicle owner's insurance. You may not need to pay a lawyer: free legal aid is available if you qualify, and most families do (see below).

What you can claim

  • Medical expenses (current and future)
  • Loss of income during treatment
  • Permanent disability compensation
  • In death cases: loss of dependency for the family
  • Funeral expenses
  • Pain and suffering

How to file

  1. Collect the FIR, MLC, Form-I, Form-XII, and the eDAR Victim ID first. See the documents page.
  2. Visit the MACT tribunal for your district, or contact the DLSA and ask for free legal help to file a claim.
  3. The claim form asks for the victim's age, occupation, income, and the circumstances of the accident. The tribunal determines compensation using a fixed formula. See how compensation is worked out.
  4. File within six months of the accident if you possibly can. If longer has passed, file anyway and say why you were delayed. Do not assume you are out of time.

Source: Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, section 166 · Gazette S.O. 859(E), 25 February 2022 · mact.hcnlservices.in

Hit-and-run cases (untraced vehicle)

If the vehicle cannot be identified or traced, you can still claim compensation from the government's Solatium Fund.

  • Death: ₹2 lakh
  • Grievous injury: ₹50,000

To claim, contact the Claims Enquiry Officer at the District Collector's office or any police station. File within six months of the accident.

Source: mact.hcnlservices.in

Free legal aid

Being a road accident victim is not, by itself, a ground for free legal aid. But most families qualify on another ground: any woman, any child, a person with a disability, a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, or anyone whose annual income is below the state limit (₹3,00,000 in most states). A widow claiming for her husband qualifies as a woman, with no income test.

Free legal aid covers the lawyer, the filing and the process fees, during the case and after it. How to apply, and what a lawyer can charge you.

Source: Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, section 12 · NALSA, Legal Aid

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