Ruling that negligence on the part of Southern Railway had resulted in a Chennai resident sustaining injuries on his neck and chest, a city court has ordered a compensation of Rs 1.3 lakh to him.
D Ramakrishna Rao was injured when a sleeper log weighing about 40 kg fell on him from the railway track above the RBI subway on the night of November 1, 2007, when Rao was returning to his residence near Parry’s Corner on his two-wheeler.
The impact of the fall was such that Ramakrishna Rao lost consciousness immediately, in addition to sustaining grievous injuries. Passersby shifted him to a hospital where he was first admitted and later treated as an in-patient for more than six days.
Ramakrishna Rao subsequently filed a suit against the GM of Southern Railway seeking damages and compensation.
However, the Railway authorities stated that the claim was false. They said that Rao had fallen off his vehicle and was seeking compensation by making false claims.
The authorities contended that the sleepers were of a minimum weight of 300 kg and rail traffic would have been affected in such a situation.
The Railways’ charge, however, was negated with eyewitness accounts which confirmed that the sleeper log indeed fell on Ramakrishna Rao .
Ruling that the negligence of the Railways in maintaining the sleepers had resulted in the mishap, II Assistant Judge of City Civil Court G Vinobha said that Rao had to be duly compensated for the injuries he sustained.
“The plaintiff has to be duly compensated for injuries and damages claimed by the petitioner, by virtue of his fractures in the neck, shoulder and in the vertebrae,” the judge ruled.