Maqsoods’ success rate
The Maqsoods have won hundreds of cases, most of them against the National Logistics Carrier (NLC).
The Maqsoods have won hundreds of cases, most of them against the National Logistics Carrier (NLC). PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI:
The Maqsoods have won hundreds of cases, most of them against the National Logistics Carrier (NLC), the defunct Karachi Transport Company (KTC), whose heavy trailer-trucks and public buses have crushed thousands to death on the arteries of the port city.
In a rare case in the late 1980s, the Pakistan Railways compensated the heirs of the commuters travelling in a mini-bus that was hit by the moving train at an un-fenced railway crossing. The late Maqsood Ahmed also won monetary assistance from a family, who died when a trainee PAF trainee jet fighter crashed on their house decades ago.
A few months ago, the company obtained a landmark order for the Sindh High Court, which ordered the highly influential corporation of the Pakistan army, the NLC, to deposit with the court millions in compensation for 16 people, crushed to death by its trailer-trucks over the years. The firm is also fighting compensation for those killed when the Shershah bridge collapsed.
Calculating compensation
The Fatal Accidents Act, 1885, allows damages to be calculated for every accidental death. According to the company, it determines the amount of damages on the basis of the victim’s last salary. “The last salary of the victim is multiplied by 78, which is the average life expectancy in our country,” explained Advocate Aamir Maqsood. “If the deceased was doing another part-time job, then that is also taken into consideration.” On top of this, the prevailing mark-up value is also added. Aamir admitted the most complex cases are those of students or people without jobs.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 11th,2013.
The Maqsoods have won hundreds of cases, most of them against the National Logistics Carrier (NLC), the defunct Karachi Transport Company (KTC), whose heavy trailer-trucks and public buses have crushed thousands to death on the arteries of the port city.
In a rare case in the late 1980s, the Pakistan Railways compensated the heirs of the commuters travelling in a mini-bus that was hit by the moving train at an un-fenced railway crossing. The late Maqsood Ahmed also won monetary assistance from a family, who died when a trainee PAF trainee jet fighter crashed on their house decades ago.
A few months ago, the company obtained a landmark order for the Sindh High Court, which ordered the highly influential corporation of the Pakistan army, the NLC, to deposit with the court millions in compensation for 16 people, crushed to death by its trailer-trucks over the years. The firm is also fighting compensation for those killed when the Shershah bridge collapsed.
Calculating compensation
The Fatal Accidents Act, 1885, allows damages to be calculated for every accidental death. According to the company, it determines the amount of damages on the basis of the victim’s last salary. “The last salary of the victim is multiplied by 78, which is the average life expectancy in our country,” explained Advocate Aamir Maqsood. “If the deceased was doing another part-time job, then that is also taken into consideration.” On top of this, the prevailing mark-up value is also added. Aamir admitted the most complex cases are those of students or people without jobs.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 11th,2013.