Facts
The claimant, who was a pillion rider, sustained injuries in a road accident on 8 November 2020 caused by the motorcycle rider’s rash and negligent driving.
Source reference: pp. 3–5, paras. 3–6, 7, 11The MACT awarded him ₹2,78,000 under various heads, with interest at 6% per annum. He appealed seeking enhancement. The High Court recorded that he was 34 years old at the time of the accident, had fractures including a right proximal tibial fracture, and had been working as an office boy on a contractual basis; he lost that job following the accident
Source reference: pp. 3–5, paras. 3–6, 7, 11Issues
1. Whether the claimant was entitled to compensation for loss of future income due to disability, which the Tribunal had not awarded
Source reference: p. 5, para. 112. Whether the Tribunal’s assessment of compensation under the other heads warranted enhancement
Source reference: pp. 4–5, paras. 8–10Law Applied
The appeal was brought under Section 173(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act
Source reference: p. 2The judgment applied the compensation principles that future loss of income may be assessed by multiplying annual income by the applicable age-based multiplier and the percentage of whole-body disability. It treated disability assessed in a lower limb as one-third of that figure for whole-body disability and adopted the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority’s notional income of ₹14,000 per month for 2020; for a claimant aged 34, it applied a multiplier of 16
Source reference: p. 4, para. 6; p. 5, paras. 12–13Reasoning
The Court accepted the Tribunal’s notional income of ₹14,000 per month and its awards for pain and suffering, medical expenses, attendant and incidental charges, and laid-up-period income
Source reference: pp. 4–5, paras. 6, 8–10However, because the claimant lost his contractual job and the Tribunal had not awarded compensation for future income loss, the Court assessed the doctor’s evidence of 36.58% disability to the right lower limb as 12% whole-body disability. Applying the multiplier of 16, it calculated future income loss as ₹14,000 × 12 × 16 × 12% = ₹3,22,560
Source reference: p. 5, paras. 11–13Holding
The appeal was allowed in part. The Court awarded ₹3,22,560 as enhanced compensation, with interest at 6% per annum from the date of the petition until realization, payable by the insurer.
The insurer was directed to deposit the amount before the Tribunal within six weeks; 50% is to be released to the claimant and the remaining 50% placed in a three-year fixed deposit
Source reference: pp. 6–7, paras. 14–15Acts & Sections Cited
1 provisions across 1 statute referred to in this judgment. Each provision opens on LawLens.
Motor Vehicles Act, 19881
Original Court PDF
K. J. BHARATH,vsSRI. REJI MATHEW,
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Original judgment, available to read, download and summarize on LawLens.in
