THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC) awarded Rs 4 lakh compensation and litigation costs to a man who sustained 45 pc burn injuries in an LPG cylinder leak. The commission found fault with two insurance companies which did not provide relief to the victim.
The Kollam District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission had earlier directed Indane and its agency in Kottarakkara to pay Rs 4 lakh compensation to the injured. The SCDRC order came on an appeal petition filed by the duo.
According to the complainant, a driver by profession, the agency staff replaced the cylinder at his house on April 3, 2015. When his wife lit the stove she noticed a fire on the regulator. The husband rushed to her help and moved the cylinder out of the house. His timely action avoided injuries to his family members and damage to his house.
Indane had insured its customers with United India Insurance Company and the agency with the Oriental Insurance Company. Both companies claimed that the insured parties did not intimate them within the stipulated time prescribed in the policies. The district commission approved this and exonerated them from the liability.
The appeal petitions filed by Indane and the agency were heard by the SCDRC bench comprising its president Justice B Sudheendra Kumar, judicial member Ajith Kumar D and member Radhakrishnan K R. The complainant’s wife had died of cancer by then.
After the accident, the agency had kept the regulator under its custody. Hence, the commission rejected the agency’s claim that the regulator was not defective. The SCDRC found that insurance companies declined to honour the claim citing technical reasons. They did not incline to do it even after being impleaded as parties before the district commission. It found deficiency in service on the part of the insurance companies as well. Amending the district commission’s order, the SCDRC said the Rs 4 lakh compensation to the complainant is to be paid by Indane, agency and insurance companies jointly.