THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A fisherman who suffered a heart attack after being thrown off balance from his boat on the high seas died in an accident, the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has found. It ruled that the victim’s family deserved compensation under insurance coverage.
Raghunath of Kasaragod was thrown off while pulling a heavily loaded net. His head had struck the wooden country craft. Traditional fishermen, including Raghunath, had been insured by the Matsya Board and Matsyafed with United India Insurance and New India Assurance. The insurers rejected his family’s claim, citing the postmortem examination report, which recorded the cause of death as stenosis and acute myocardial infarction. According to the insurers, they were liable to pay only in cases of accidental death.
The Kasaragod District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission found merit in the family’s complaint. It directed the two insurers to jointly and severally pay Rs 3 lakh as insurance benefit with interest. Also, Rs 10,000 as compensation and Rs 3,000 as costs were awarded.
The appeal petition was heard by the State Commission bench comprising its president Justice B Sudheendra Kumar, judicial member Ajith Kumar D, and member K R Radhakrishnan. Though the postmortem examination report recorded a cardiac cause, it also stated that the ‘history of the cause of death’ included the fact that his head hit the craft.
The commission held that the death, though caused by stenosis and acute myocardial infarction, arose out of an accident during the course of his employment as a fisherman. Noting that the repudiation of the claim amounted to deficiency in service, it upheld the district commission’s order.