29-05-2025
Fisher gets Rs 22.4L payout after bus mishap
Panaji:
A North Goa court awarded Rs 22.4 lakh compensation with interest to Bhikaji Sawant, a fisherman, who was rendered 40% permanently disabled after a bus ran over his leg in 2013.
The court noted Sawant was 44 at the time and lost 16 years of earnings and better prospects in life due to the injury. The court held the bus driver failed in his duty to check for alighting passengers while reversing and did not exercise caution.
The court awarded Rs 2 lakh for the pain and surgeries, considering his reliance on crutches and Rs 3 lakh for his permanent disability, noting his inability to work.
The fisherman said that he earned Rs 15,000 per month, but the court set it at Rs 10,000 due to lack of proof.
In July 2013, while alighting the bus at Amona, the driver reversed the bus, causing Sawant to hit the door and fall on the ground. The bus then ran over his leg, and he underwent seven leg surgeries.
