Entitlement to Consortium for Parents, Spouse, and Children Reaffirmed; Siblings Excluded from Consortium Claims.

On August 19, 2022, the deceased, Nareshbhai Galbabhai Taral (aged 28), was traveling in a tractor-trolley when a trailer (Reg. No. RJ-52-GA-7705) driving at excessive speed in a rash and negligent manner collided with him.

The deceased succumbed to his injuries and the legal heirs filed MACP No. 40/2023.

The Tribunal awarded Rs. 23,52,000/- with 9% interest.

The appellants challenged this award before the High Court on the ground of insufficient quantum, specifically regarding conventional heads and loss of consortium.

1. Whether the compensation awarded under the conventional heads (loss of estate and funeral expenses) was adequate per established precedents.

2. Whether all five legal representatives, including the brother, are entitled to compensation under the head of "loss of consortium".

The court followed the principles for quantifying conventional heads established in National Insurance Company Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi (2017) 16 SCC 680, which mandates standardized amounts for loss of estate and funeral expenses subject to periodic indexing.

The court applied the "filial and parental consortium" rules from Magma General Insurance Company Limited v. Nanu Ram @ Chuhru Ram (2018) 18 SCC 130, which expands the entitlement to parents and children.

The High Court found the Tribunal’s award of Rs. 18,000/- for loss of estate and funeral expenses to be slightly below the indexed standards and enhanced both to Rs. 18,150/- each.

The court held that while the parents, widow, and child (four individuals) are entitled to individual consortium of Rs. 48,400/- each, the brother (Appellant No. 5) is not legally entitled to this specific head of compensation.

The total consortium was recalculated as Rs. 1,93,600/- (48,400 x 4).

The court directed the insurance companies (respondents 2 and 4) to deposit the additional amount of Rs. 1,45,900/- with 9% interest within six weeks, specifying the final award components including Loss of dependency (Rs. 22,68,000/-), Loss of estate (Rs. 18,150/-), Funeral expenses (Rs. 18,150/-), and Loss of consortium for four claimants (Rs. 1,93,600/-).