In a heart-wrenching case, the Calcutta High Court has delivered a verdict stating that death caused by a mosquito bite is not covered under an accident insurance policy. The court reasoned that illness does not fall within the scope of accidental death, and a mosquito bite lacks the suddenness and shock required to be classified as an accident.
A grieving mother, Chitra Mukherjee, sought justice in the High Court after her son, Army man Chayan Mukherjee, tragically passed away at the Command Hospital. Chayan had been admitted to the hospital for post-surgical complications arising from a knee injury and was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease during his treatment. Subsequently, he contracted Dengue fever and, despite medical efforts, succumbed to his illness. When Chitra approached the insurance company for a claim, it was denied on the grounds that the cause of death was deemed “non-accidental” and therefore not covered by the policy.
After carefully considering all the facts and arguments, Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya, presiding over the single judge bench, observed that the definition of accidental death encompasses accidental injuries but excludes illnesses. The consensus also leans towards excluding deaths solely resulting from diseases, without an accompanying accident.
Furthermore, the bench noted that experiencing a mosquito bite within the sanitized confines of a hospital can be regarded as an undesired and unwarranted incident at best. It is not an occurrence that startles the sufferer (the person bitten) as it is not unexpected. An accident typically involves an event that startles a person when it happens but does not elicit such a response when it does not occur. The bench emphasized that accidents are typically marked by violence—an abrupt screech, a jarring thud, often accompanied by destruction and loud noise. Mosquitoes, on the other hand, silently and insidiously carry out their harmful activities unnoticed.
The bench highlighted the definition of an accident according to the IRDA (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority) Guidelines on Standard Personal Accident Insurance Product, which describes it as “a sudden, unforeseen and involuntary event caused by external, visible and violent means.” The Group Personal Accident Insurance Policy of the United India Insurance Company Limited, subject to this claim, defines an accident in reference to a Personal Accident Insurance as “any bodily injury resulting solely and directly from an accident caused by external violent and visible means.” The policy in question aims to cover death and disablement, but the death must be caused solely and directly by an accident involving violent and visible external factors. While snake bites and high-altitude ailments, including high altitude pulmonary edema, are explicitly included in the coverage, other forms of insect bites are excluded, as stated by the bench.
Undoubtedly, the death of Chitra’s son is a heartbreaking tragedy, and this court empathizes with her pain and sorrow. However, the insurance policy and legal precedents do not interpret diseases caused by mosquito bites as accidents. Such incidents are neither fortuitous nor unexpected and are highly location-specific. Therefore, the insurance company’s refusal to accept liability in this specific policy cannot be deemed arbitrary or unreasonable, as concluded by the bench, which subsequently dismissed the petition.
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