Updated on Monday, December 01, 2008, 00:00 IST

New Delhi, Dec 01: A person who dies of cardiac arrest following a mishap is entitled to accidental insurance claim, the Delhi Consumer Commission has held.

"If any person meets with an accident including vehicular accident and if death occurs due to myocardial infarction consequent to coronary artery disease, he is entitled for the accident claim benefit," Commission President Justice J D Kapoor said.

The Commission dismissed the plea of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India that the insured was not entitled to the double of the sum assured as he died of cardiac ailment which was not part of accident insurance coverage.

Rejecting the LIC's appeal against an order of a district forum, the panel also comprising member Rumnita Mittal said that merely because insured Jagdish Lal was a heart patient, it cannot be held that he did not die due to accident.

The Commission did not find any substance in the plea that the dependents of the insured cannot be compensated as accident was caused due to his negligence as per the FIR.

"Merely because an FIR was lodged with the police, it does not mean that the accident did not take place or that he has been held guilty for having driven the car rashly," it said, adding, "accident is an accident."

Lal's widow Veena Dhingra was forced to approach the district forum after the LIC denied her accidental claim of Rs 50,000.

The forum had on September 14, 2006 directed the insurance company to pay Rs 63,000 including the compensation to Dhingra after holding that her husband's death was duly covered under the policy.

The panel, upholding the forum's order, directed the LIC to pay the amount to Dhingra, a resident of Tri Nagar here within a month.

Bureau Report