Indian-origin doctor penalised ₹1.41 crore in UK; Here's why

The United Kingdom's court has ruled that an Indian-origin doctor Dr Shanthi Chandran, to pay 13500 pounds (approximately Rs 1.41 crore) to a girl whom she hit with her luxury car in 2018, which resulted in severe head injuries.

As it happened

The accident occurred in January 2018, when Dr Shanthi Chandran was driving her car on Buckingham Road in Bicester when Chandran's car collided with then-12-year-old victim. Police reported that the impact of the collision caused the girl's head to hit the windscreen of the car, resulting, in the girl being thrown 11 meters ahead of the pedestrian crossing.

After the accident, the girl was admitted and ventilated for three days in the hospital. She had to spend a total of 10 days in the hospital.

The young girl knocked on the door of the court, accusing Dr Shanthi Chandran, a consultant physician, of negligence that led to fatal injuries to her skull and neck.

The documents submitted in the court revealed that the girl was "left with cognitive and psychiatric problems" and suffered nightmares and "PTSD-type symptoms for the first year after the accident."

What were Dr Chandran's accusations?

Intinally, Dr Chandran claimed, the accident occurred because the girl was on the road when the traffic signal lights were green. However, the court found her guilty of the collision, apportioning liability 60/40 in favor of the applicant.

Court reduces claimed amount by 40%

Meanwhile, the court reduced the claimed amount of 2,25,000 pounds by 40% for the damages. The court attributed that to the applicant's negligence in stepping out onto the road while the traffic signal was green.