Motor Accident Claims Tribunal Mumbai: claims we file and defend

Visit us in Sanpada, Navi Mumbai

Our office is at Office 219, Haware Intelligentia Park, Plot No. 33, Sector-24, Sanpada-Turbhe Road, Navi Mumbai 400783. Families can meet us there by appointment, Monday to Saturday, 9 AM to 6 PM.

Many claims begin while someone is still in hospital, and nobody should leave a bedside to see a lawyer. The first conversation can be by phone, WhatsApp or video call, and photographs of the FIR and hospital papers can reach us on WhatsApp or email. On that first call we tell you what to collect before it goes missing.

Claims are led by Adv. Swanand Pandit (Advocate, High Court of Bombay), with Adv. Ashok Ingle handling the papers and keeping you updated between dates. Call +91 8291849797 or +91 9167710454, or write to info@vivs.in.

MACT claims we handle for Mumbai clients

The tribunal decides compensation for road accidents involving motor vehicles. Our Mumbai work falls into these groups.

Injury claims

A pedestrian hit on the Western Express Highway, a rider thrown at a junction, a passenger hurt in a taxi or a city bus. The claim covers medical bills, future treatment, earnings lost while recovering, pain and suffering, loss of amenities and, for permanent disability, loss of future earning capacity. Disability is proved through a certificate and the doctor's evidence, so we plan both early.

Death claims

These are brought by the legal representatives of the person who died: spouse, children, parents and others who depended on them. MACT compensation for a death follows the method the Supreme Court set in Sarla Verma (2009) and National Insurance Co. v Pranay Sethi (2017). The court takes the lost income, adds future prospects, deducts personal expenses and applies a multiplier based on age. Fixed sums for funeral costs, loss of estate and consortium are added.

The fixed sum without proof of fault

Under Section 164 of the Motor Vehicles Act, Rs 5 lakh for a death or Rs 2.5 lakh for grievous hurt is payable without proving that anyone was negligent. But a person who accepts that sum through the insurer's settlement procedure under Section 149 cannot keep a full claim going. It suits cases where fault is genuinely hard to prove, and we compare it with the full claim before you decide.

Hit-and-run compensation

If the vehicle was never identified, the Compensation to Victims of Hit and Run Motor Accidents Scheme, 2022, made under Section 161, pays Rs 2 lakh for a death or Rs 50,000 for grievous hurt. The application goes to the claims enquiry officer, not the tribunal. If the vehicle is traced later, a full claim can still be filed.

Uninsured vehicles

The tribunal still decides the claim, but the award is against the owner and driver personally. Collecting it depends on what they own, so we look at that before filing. Our asset verification work in Mumbai helps trace what can be attached after an award.

When it is not a MACT case

If your own insurer rejected a claim for damage to your car, that goes to the Insurance Ombudsman or the consumer commission, not the tribunal. Our IRDAI Ombudsman help for a rejected claim is from Rs 5,000.

For insurers and vehicle owners

We defend claims for insurers and for owners of taxis, buses, trucks and company vehicles. That means checking how the accident happened, raising licence, permit and policy defences, testing income and disability evidence, and appealing to the Bombay High Court under Section 173 where an award goes beyond the proof.

Where is the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal in Mumbai?

It sits in the Fort area of South Mumbai and hears claims for Greater Mumbai through more than one court. It was set up in December 1959 as part of the City Civil and Sessions Court and later became a separate tribunal. People call it the MACT court or the motor vehicle court, but it is a claims tribunal constituted under Section 165 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, with a civil court's powers for taking evidence.

Which tribunal can take your claim?

You are not tied to the place of the accident. Under Section 166(2), a claim can be filed where the accident happened, where you live or carry on business, or where the respondent lives. A Mumbai resident injured on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, or a family whose relative died on a highway in Gujarat, can usually file before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal Mumbai.

Navi Mumbai is outside the Mumbai tribunal's area. Vashi, Nerul and Airoli fall in Thane district, and Kharghar and Panvel in Raigad district, each with its own tribunal. A Navi Mumbai resident hurt in Mumbai can still choose to file in Mumbai.

Checking your case status

Claims before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal Mumbai are registered as motor accident claim petitions (MACP), with a number and year. The tribunal's website, mumact.dcourts.gov.in, and eCourts services show the next date, the stage and any orders. You can search by MACP number, by the CNR number on your court papers, or by a party's name. Each court's cause list is published there too.

The other offices involved

The police station that registered the FIR prepares the accident reports and sends them to the tribunal on a fixed timetable, ending with a Detailed Accident Report. Under Section 166(4) the tribunal can treat that report as a claim. The motor vehicle inspector reports on the vehicles. The criminal case against the driver runs separately before the magistrate, and appeals against an award go to the Bombay High Court.

How we take a Mumbai claim from accident to award

This is how a claim runs with us. For the full filing procedure, the forms and each hearing stage, read our Motor Accident Claim Tribunal Mumbai filing guide.

1. First review. We read the FIR, spot panchnama, vehicle inspection report and hospital papers, and check the offending vehicle's insurance. Errors in the police record are raised with the police station early, while witnesses can still be traced.
2. Medical evidence. Treatment in Mumbai often moves from a municipal or government hospital such as KEM, Sion, Nair, Cooper or JJ to a private one. We collect case papers and bills from each, and arrange the disability assessment and the doctor's evidence.
3. Income proof. Simple for salaried claimants. For taxi and auto drivers, delivery riders, small traders and others paid in cash, we build it from bank statements, returns, GST records and employer letters. Without proof, the tribunal falls back on a notional income.
4. The claim petition. Drafted with every head of compensation worked out, the owner, driver and insurer as respondents, and every legal representative joined in a death claim.
5. The insurer's offer. Under Section 149 the insurer's designated officer can make a settlement offer once the accident report is in. We value the claim before you answer it.
6. Evidence and settlement. We lead your evidence, cross-examine the insurer's witnesses and consider settlement, including at Lok Adalat, only once the claim has been valued properly.
7. Award and payment. We follow the deposit, any fixed deposit directions and the release of money to you, and advise on an appeal to the Bombay High Court where the award is too low.

Documents for a motor accident claim petition

• FIR, spot panchnama and the vehicle inspection report
• Registration number, insurance policy and driving licence details of the offending vehicle, if known
• Every hospital paper: case papers, discharge summary, bills and pharmacy receipts
• A disability certificate from a medical board where the injury is lasting
• Proof of age, and proof of income such as salary slips, tax returns, bank statements or GST records
• Photographs of the scene, the vehicles and the injuries
• For a death: post-mortem report, death certificate and proof of who the legal representatives are
• Your identity and bank details, which are needed when the award money is released

Keep the original bills. Copies of pharmacy receipts are routinely disputed, and lost bills are the easiest money to lose in a claim.

How long does a MACT case take in Mumbai?

A contested claim usually takes one to three years from filing to award. The insurer's stand on liability decides much of it: where the driving licence or the policy is disputed, expect the longer end.

What affects the cost

We do not publish a fee for tribunal work, because it depends on:

• whether the insurer admits liability or contests it;
• how many witnesses, especially doctors, must give evidence;
• how hard income is to prove;
• whether there is an appeal, by you or by the insurer.

An advocate in India may not charge a fee that depends on the result, or take a share of the award; the Bar Council of India Rules forbid it. Be careful with anyone who asks for a percentage of your compensation. We give a written quote after the first meeting.

Mistakes that cut MACT compensation

• Waiting to recover before filing. The six-month limit runs from the accident, not from discharge. File with the papers you have and add the medical evidence later.
• No proof of cash income. Without it, the tribunal uses a notional figure that is usually lower than what you earned. Start collecting bank statements and work records in the first week.
• Accepting the first offer. Early insurer offers are often built on notional income. Value the claim before agreeing, because a Lok Adalat award cannot be appealed.
• Leaving out a legal representative. A parent or child missing from a death claim can hold up the award while they are added.
• A petition that contradicts the FIR. Insurers build their defence on any gap between the FIR, the spot panchnama and your petition. Explain the differences; do not ignore them.
• Treating the criminal case as the claim. The case against the driver before the magistrate does not decide your compensation. The tribunal claim has to be filed separately.

MACT claims in other cities

For how compensation is calculated and the law behind it, see our page on motor accident claims. Claims linked to other cities have their own pages for Pune, Delhi and Bengaluru.