By Ashraf Padanna
Thiruvananthapuram
Veteran Malayalam actor Jagathy Sreekumar, who met with a near-fatal accident approximately three years ago, will receive Rs59mn in damages.
His wife, Sobha Sreekumar, who claimed Rs130mn from insurance company Future Generali Accident Suraksha, finally settled for Rs59mn after an arbitration by the Legal Services Authority here yesterday.
The insurers agreed to deposit the amount with the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal by today, family sources said.
The amount is believed to be the highest compensation received by an accident victim in Kerala, where badly maintained narrow roads claim around 4,000 lives each year.
The 63-year-old actor of more than 1,500 films met with the accident at Kozhikode on March 10, 2012, and has not regained his faculties since then, even after prolonged treatment.
His family moved court in April last year against the driver and owner of the vehicle hired for the actor.
The demand was raised to Rs130mn from initial claims of Rs10.5mn before it went to the arbitrators.
The amount was arrived at based on the income tax returns filed by the actor, the contract he had entered into at the time of the accident, his age and the roles expected in future.
Sreekumar had a gross income of Rs13.2mn and a net income of Rs4.8mn as per the last IT returns. He also had many ongoing projects in hand. The expenses for his treatment so far and projected for the future were also factored in.
The petitioners also pointed out that the police had already filed a case of negligence on the part of the driver.
The actor still cannot speak properly or move independently though he has improved considerably.
The veteran Malayalam actor was admitted to the Malabar Institute of Medical Sciences (MIMS) in Kozhikode immediately after the midnight accident on the national highway near the Calicut University.
He was shifted to the Christian Medical College in Vellore in Tamil Nadu where he was admitted for rehabilitation therapy after a month-long treatment at the MIMS where he underwent multiple surgeries.
He was brought home from Vellore in March last year and has since been undergoing continued therapy assisted by doctors at the Sree Chitra Institute of Medical Sciences.
Sreekumar was part of the winning formula of popular Malayalam films at the time of the accident, shuttling from one location to another.
The accident occurred while the actor was shuttling between shootings late at night.
In 2011 alone, of the 70 Malayalam films that were released, Sreekumar acted in 24.
