Dengue Death Caused By Mosquito Bite Is Not ‘Accident’ To Allow Accident Insurance Claim: Calcutta HC

The Calcutta High Court recently held that mosquitoes are the silent, insidious foes that may be found all over India, and hence a mosquito bite cannot be considered an ‘accident’ for the purposes of claiming compensation under an accident insurance policy.

A single judge, Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya dismissed the plea filed by the mother of a serving army man, who died in a hospital on December 20, 2021 after acquiring Dengue.

It rejected the argument that because the dead was bitten by a mosquito, it would come within the ambit of an ‘accident’ and so the insurance company was obligated to compensate.

“The reality of living in a tropical country like India is to take in one’s stride, extreme summers, heavy monsoons, population density – and the buzz of mosquitoes. Complaints aside, mosquitoes and mosquito repellents are our unwelcome companions for life and a (residential) hazard to life in India,” Justice Bhattacharya lamented in the order passed recently.

The judge cited data from the National Centre for Vector Borne Disease Control, which showed that there were 5,166 Dengue cases in West Bengal in 2020 and 8,264 in 2021.

According to the report, there were 1,93,245 dengue cases and 346 dengue deaths in India in 2021. According to specialised statistics on Dengue, India is one of the countries in the risk zone, and Dengue is the country’s 46th largest cause of death, according to the judge.

Mosquitoes are also our travelling companions these days, the judge opined.

“Mosquitoes are found in flights to unknown destinations where one least expects them to be. It is debatable whether a person can claim aviation insurance on the basis of having booked tickets to travel to the scheduled place without contracting Malaria. Mosquitoes are (apparently) everywhere – in pools, parks, movie theatres, and convention centres – pests! Perhaps the time has finally come to use cannons to kill mosquitos,” the judgement stated in a lighter vein.

As a result, a mosquito bite in the sanitised confines of a hospital may be an unpleasant and unnecessary episode at best; it is not something that happens by chance in such a way that it surprises the victim.

“After all, an accident is an event that startles a person when it occurs but does not startle a person when it does not occur. Accidents are also violent – a screech, a thud, frequently destruction accompanied by high-level noise. Mosquitoes, on the other hand, are the silent, sneaky adversaries who go about their deadly work unseen,” the court ruled.

The death of the petitioner’s son is clearly tragic, the Court stated, expressing its sorrow and distress.

“However, the insurance policy and precedents on the subject do not allow for any disease caused by a mosquito bite to be interpreted as an accident. It is neither accidental nor unexpected, and it is fully country/city specific. The impugned refusal of the Insurance Company to admit liability in the particular policy cannot thus be regarded as arbitrary or unreasonable,” the judge ruled.

The bench dismissed the petition based on these observations.