News / National
Man sues bus company over wife's death in accident
21 Sep 2017 at 06:25hrs | Views
A MASVINGO man has filed a $500 000 lawsuit against the owners of King Lion Motors following the death of his wife in an horrific accident involving one of the company's buses near Nyamakate in Hurungwe in June this year.
Isaac Madungwe's wife, Tendai Pedzisi, a nurse at Masvingo General Hospital, was one of the 43 people who died in the accident after the speeding Lusaka-bound bus allegedly burst a tyre on approaching a curve and overturned.
In his lawsuit filed at Masvingo High Court on September 5, Madungwe gave the bus company 10 days to respond to the application.
Through his lawyer, Charles Ndlovu, Madungwe claimed the death of his wife had deprived him and his five children of a source of income.
He said his family failed to recover $2 000 and other valuables worth $50 that the deceased had in her possession when the accident happened.
Madungwe said he had so far received $3 000 compensation from the bus company's insurers, and described the money as "too little", arguing that his late wife earned $563 a month, which could have translated to $195 000 had she continued working for 29 more years until retirement at the age of 60.
He said his wife earned an extra $1 000 through her cross-border trading business and this would have translated to $348 000 at the retirement age of 60 years.
The family accused the bus driver of speeding, carrying excess passengers, failing to keep the bus under control and failing to act reasonably when the accident was imminent.
Isaac Madungwe's wife, Tendai Pedzisi, a nurse at Masvingo General Hospital, was one of the 43 people who died in the accident after the speeding Lusaka-bound bus allegedly burst a tyre on approaching a curve and overturned.
In his lawsuit filed at Masvingo High Court on September 5, Madungwe gave the bus company 10 days to respond to the application.
Through his lawyer, Charles Ndlovu, Madungwe claimed the death of his wife had deprived him and his five children of a source of income.
Madungwe said he had so far received $3 000 compensation from the bus company's insurers, and described the money as "too little", arguing that his late wife earned $563 a month, which could have translated to $195 000 had she continued working for 29 more years until retirement at the age of 60.
He said his wife earned an extra $1 000 through her cross-border trading business and this would have translated to $348 000 at the retirement age of 60 years.
The family accused the bus driver of speeding, carrying excess passengers, failing to keep the bus under control and failing to act reasonably when the accident was imminent.
Source - Masvingo Mirror
