A self-employed victim under 40 is entitled to 40% future prospects in compensation.

On 29 April 2007, a collision between a motorcycle and a truck resulted in the death of motorcycle rider Haridevsinh.

His widow, children, mother and stepmother filed a claim petition.

The Tribunal attributed the accident to the truck driver, assessed the deceased’s monthly income at ₹4,500, applied a multiplier of 16 and awarded ₹9,06,000.

Both the claimants and the insurer appealed, challenging the quantum; the insurer also disputed negligence

Whether the deceased’s negligence contributed to the accident

Whether the Tribunal’s assessment of income and compensation required modification

Under Mangla Ram v. The Oriental Insurance Company, 2018 (5) SCC 656, the Court considered the charge-sheet and the evidence in assessing responsibility for the accident

Under National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi, future prospects are added to income for calculating compensation; the Court applied a 40% addition for the deceased, who was self-employed and aged 32, and applied a one-fourth deduction for personal expenses

The Court also relied on Reena v. Managing Director, Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation, 2026 (0) AIJEL-SC 77486, in determining conventional heads of compensation

The Court rejected the insurer’s contributory-negligence argument because the charge-sheet was filed against the truck driver and the driver was not examined to establish negligence by the deceased

On quantum, it found that the Tribunal’s ₹4,500 monthly-income assessment was too low in light of the evidence concerning the deceased’s family responsibilities and the surrounding evidence, and fixed monthly income at ₹7,000

Adding 40% future prospects and deducting one-fourth for personal expenses produced a monthly contribution of ₹7,350; applying the multiplier of 16 yielded ₹14,11,200 for future income

The Court recalculated the other compensation heads and determined total compensation at ₹16,73,200

The enhanced amount was made payable with interest at 9% per annum from the claim-petition filing date until realization.

The insurer’s cross-objection was dismissed, and it was directed to deposit the enhanced compensation and interest within eight weeks of receiving the judgment.