6 yrs after losing hand, man wins 4.8L mediclaim | Vadodara News – The Times of India

Vadodara: A resident of Savli town near Vadodara who lost his hand in an industrial accident abroad won a six-year legal battle for mediclaim which was denied by the insurance company on the ground that he “unnecessarily” took the risk and that it was an accident. The Vadodara District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission ordered Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Ltd to pay complainant Salim Sindhi, a resident of Savli, Rs 4.8 lakh that he spent on the treatment in Argentina in 2019.Sindhi, who works for a private firm, took an overseas insurance policy from the company valid from June 2019 to June 2020 as he was to travel abroad for his official work. His company sent him to Argentina to execute orders that they received from their overseas customers.During his visit to one of their customers in Argentina, Sindhi met with an accident while operating an automatic machine in July 2019. He was admitted to a hospital, where his left hand and mid-forearm were amputated.Sindhi filed an insurance claim of Rs 4.81 lakh for the money spent on his medical treatment there.The insurance firm, however, rejected his claim in Nov 2019, following which Sindhi filed a complaint in the Vadodara consumer forum in July 2020. The insurance firm argued that Sindhi suffered the injury while operating a machine, and injuries occurring due to machines were not covered directly or indirectly in the overseas policy bought by him.“The firm further said that Sindhi chose to take up a hazardous job on his own and he unnecessarily took the risk, and hence he is not entitled to get the claim. The commission, however, said that what happened to Sindhi was an accident,” said R J Rana, Sindhi’s advocate.“A person is not responsible for accidents that happen to him,” the forum observed, and ordered the insurance firm to pay Rs 4.47 lakh to Sindhi with 9% interest from the date of the complaint filed in the forum. The forum also ordered the company to pay Rs 5,000 each towards mental harassment and litigation costs to Sindhi.