Ahmedabad : A court in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad has criticized an insurance agency after it denied paying for the treatment of people who were dependent on smoking. The court has ordered the insurance agency to pay the individual the cash spent on the therapy of cellular breakdown in the lungs.
Earlier, the insurance company had refused to pay compensation saying that the person was in the habit of smoking and due to this, he got lung cancer.
During the hearing, the court said that no evidence has been found that the person was a habitual smoker and he got lung cancer due to it. Although addiction smoking is written on the treatment documents, it does not prove that the person was addicted to smoking. The insurance company cannot make this a ground for non-payment of compensation.
The Ahmedabad court has also asked the insurance company whether non-smokers do not get lung cancer, adding that the insurance company cannot make such an excuse and will have to pay compensation.
The insurance company had rejected the claim of the insured Alok Kumar Banerjee spending Rs 93,297 on treatment of ‘Adenocarcinoma of the Lung’ or lung cancer in a private hospital on the ground that he was a smoker as mentioned in the documents of his treatment.
Smita, wife of Alok Kumar Banerjee, along with Consumer Education and Research Center had challenged this in the Ahmedabad Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.
‘No proof that disease is brought about by smoking compulsion’: Court condemns insurance agency for denying pay
