Road Accident Compensation — The MACT Claim, Step by Step

Last updated: 11 July 2026 · By Advocate Manish Sharma, Faridabad · General legal information, not legal advice

The first week after the accident — what protects the claim

1. FIR/police report: ensure the accident is reported with the correct vehicle number — the offending vehicle's identity is the claim's foundation. Hit-and-run has its own compensation scheme if the vehicle is untraced.
2. Medical papers: every prescription, bill, test, discharge summary — from day one. In death cases: post-mortem report and death certificate.
3. Income proof: salary slips/ITR/business records of the victim — this drives the compensation figure more than anything else. For non-earning victims (homemakers, students), notional income is applied — the claim still exists.
4. The DAR: since the 2019 amendment framework, police must prepare a Detailed Accident Report with all documents and forward it to the Tribunal and insurer — follow up that it is actually filed; it fast-tracks everything.

Section 166 vs Section 164 — choosing the route

Choosing 164 waives the larger 166 claim for the same accident — the election deserves advice, not haste, especially in death cases of earning members where the formula amount typically far exceeds the fixed sum.

How compensation is actually calculated (the multiplier method)

For death cases, the Supreme Court's framework (Sarla Verma, 2009; Constitution Bench in Pranay Sethi, 2017) is arithmetic, not guesswork: take the annual income → add future prospects (40% for those below 40 with permanent jobs; graded percentages for others, including the self-employed) → deduct personal expenses (1/3 to 1/2 depending on dependants) → multiply by the age-based multiplier (e.g., 18 for ages 26–30, tapering with age) → add fixed conventional heads: loss of estate, loss of consortium (per dependant), and funeral expenses (amounts periodically revised upward). Permanent disability cases run the same logic on the disability percentage's effect on earning capacity; injury cases add treatment costs, attendant charges, and pain and suffering. Interest (typically from filing) is added on the award.

Who can claim — wider than most families think

In death cases: all legal representatives — spouse, children, parents; dependency is assessed realistically. In injury cases: the injured person. The claim survives even where the victim was a gratuitous passenger, and third-party insurance is compulsory — meaning the insurer, not the driver's pocket, answers the award in the standard case. Insurers' common defences (no valid licence, drunk driving, route/permit breach) are litigated regularly and often result in "pay and recover" orders — the insurer pays the victim and recovers from the owner, so the family is not left chasing an individual.

Interim relief and timelines

The DAR regime has compressed timelines substantially — insurers must respond to the DAR with an offer or contest within set periods, and settlements before the Tribunal are common where liability is clear. Interim compensation can be sought during pendency in appropriate cases. Contested matters at the Faridabad MACT realistically run months to a couple of years; appeals lie to the Punjab & Haryana High Court. Beware two traps: quick low settlements signed in hospital corridors, and claim consultants taking large cuts — the formula makes the fair figure calculable in advance.

Frequently asked questions

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Faridabad District Court — MACT sits here · FIR — the first 48 hours · Areas of practice