Comatose Crash Victim’s Family Gets ₹4.71 Lakh More As Karnataka HC Raises Attendant-Care Compensation To ₹8.26 Lakh

Prabhakar Rao sustained grievous injuries in a bus–motorcycle accident on 31 December 2005 and remained in a comatose or vegetative state until his death on 7 June 2015.

The Tribunal found that his death resulted from the accidental injuries and awarded compensation, including Rs.3,00,000 towards attendant charges and Rs.2,35,000 under conventional heads.

His legal representatives appealed under Section 173(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, seeking enhancement, principally on the grounds that the Tribunal had undervalued nursing-care expenses and had inadequately assessed consortium.

Section 173(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 provides for an appeal against a Claims Tribunal’s award.

In assessing compensation, proven expenses incurred for attendant or nursing care may be considered as a distinct head of damages; here, the Court accepted the nursing-care bill and supporting testimony as proof of the expense.

For conventional heads in a death claim, the Court applied National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi, (2017) 16 SCC 680: consortium is assessed for eligible family members, and funeral expenses and loss of estate are awarded at the prescribed amounts, subject to periodic escalation.

The claimants produced Exhibit P108, a bill for Rs.8,26,000 for nursing-care services, and examined its author, PW.5. As the testimony was not undermined in cross-examination, the Court held that the full billed amount should be considered, rather than the Rs.3,00,000 awarded by the Tribunal.

For conventional heads, the Court assessed consortium at Rs.40,000 each for the wife, daughter and mother, added 20% escalation, and fixed the total for consortium, funeral expenses and loss of estate at Rs.1,80,000. This was Rs.55,000 less than the Tribunal’s combined award of Rs.2,35,000 under those heads.

The resulting net enhancement was Rs.4,71,000.

The insurer was directed to deposit the enhanced amount before the Tribunal within six weeks; upon deposit, it was to be released to the claimants in the same apportionment ratio as ordered by the Tribunal.