Heart Attack During Strenuous Overseas Work Can Amount To “Accidental Death”: Consumer Commission Orders IFFCO Tokio To Pay ₹10 Lakh
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Ganjam at Berhampur, presided over by Shri Satish Kumar Panigrahi (President I/c) and Smt. Saritri Pattanaik (Member), has held that a cardiac death occurring during strenuous overseas employment can qualify as an “accidental death” under a personal accident insurance policy. Accordingly, the Commission directed IFFCO Tokio...
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Ganjam at Berhampur, presided over by Shri Satish Kumar Panigrahi (President I/c) and Smt. Saritri Pattanaik (Member), has held that a cardiac death occurring during strenuous overseas employment can qualify as an “accidental death” under a personal accident insurance policy.
Accordingly, the Commission directed IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Co. Ltd. to pay ₹10 lakh along with interest to the widow of an overseas mason who died while working in Oman.
Brief Facts
The deceased had taken a Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana Policy, 2006 from IFFCO Tokio, valid for two years. The policy assured a sum of ₹10 lakh against any accidental death or permanent total disability during overseas employment.
During the subsistence of the policy, the insured died on 04.01.2017 while engaged in masonry work in Oman. The death certificate recorded the cause of death as “Cardiac Arrest of Unknown Reason.”
His wife, Smt. Kumari Gochayat, submitted all documents and completed all formalities to claim the assured sum under the policy. However, the claim remained unsettled, prompting her to file a consumer complaint.
Arguments of IFFCO Tokio
The Insurance Company contended that the policy covered only accidental death and that death due to a heart attack constituted a natural death excluded under the policy terms. It was further argued that the complaint was not maintainable as it involved complex questions of fact and law requiring a civil trial.
Findings of the Commission
The Commission observed that while a heart attack is ordinarily considered a natural death, where death occurs during strenuous physical labour—particularly in high-risk employments such as masonry—it may be treated as an accidental death if a proximate causal nexus exists between work stress and the cardiac event.
Relying on Supreme Court precedents, including the “Accident Doctrine” laid down in Shakuntala Chandrakant Shreshti v. Prabhakar Maruti Garvali, the Commission applied the Triple Test, namely:
1. Existence of physical strain or stress
2. Occurrence of the event during the course of employment
3. Acceleration or contribution to death by work conditions
The Commission found all three conditions satisfied, noting that the deceased had “died in harness” while performing strenuous masonry work in an overseas environment.
Rejecting the maintainability objection, the Commission held that Consumer Commissions are competent to decide insurance disputes even when they involve mixed questions of fact and law.
Holding the insurer guilty of deficiency in service, the Commission directed IFFCO Tokio to:
• Pay ₹10,00,000 as the assured sum
• Pay interest at 9% per annum from the date of filing of the complaint (25.07.2018) till the date of the order (05.01.2026)
• Pay ₹5,000 towards litigation costs
Case Title: Smt. Kumari Gochayat v. IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Co. Ltd. & Anr.
Case No.: DC/354/CC/39/2018