Functional disability must reflect the claimant’s occupation and its impact on earning capacity.

The claimant sustained injuries, including a fracture of the left femur, in a motor vehicle accident on 8 August 2021.

The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal awarded her ₹2,57,530, assessed her functional disability at 10%, and ordered the insurer to pay and recover because of a breach of policy conditions.

She appealed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, seeking enhancement, contending that her disability, income, and compensation under several heads had been assessed too low.

The High Court considered medical-board evidence recording 40% disability in the left leg and 13% whole-body disability.

Whether the Tribunal’s assessment of the claimant’s functional disability and income resulted in an inadequate award.

Whether compensation for loss of income during treatment, medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other relevant heads should be enhanced.

The appeal was brought under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, which provides for an appeal against an award of a Claims Tribunal.

In reassessing compensation, the Court considered the claimant’s functional disability in light of the medical evidence and her work as a labourer and agricultural worker, applied the applicable minimum-wage figure, and calculated loss of earning capacity using the multiplier applied by the Tribunal.

The judgment cites no specific precedent or additional statutory provision governing the assessment.

The Court found that the 40% disability of the left leg and 13% whole-body disability, considered alongside the claimant’s labour and agricultural work, justified assessing her functional disability at 25%, rather than the Tribunal’s 10%.

It also held that the applicable monthly income was ₹9,200, not ₹9,000. Given the fracture and five-day hospitalisation, it considered three months of inability to work probable and increased treatment-period loss of income to ₹40,000. It enhanced medical expenses to ₹25,000 and pain and suffering to ₹30,000, while leaving the other listed heads unchanged.

Applying 25% future prospects, 25% loss of earning capacity, and a multiplier of 13, the Court calculated total compensation at ₹5,63,500.

The claimant was awarded an additional ₹3,05,970, with interest at 6% per annum from the filing of the claim application until realisation.

The remaining conditions of the Tribunal’s award, including the pay-and-recover order, were left intact.

The Registry was directed to communicate the enhanced amount to the claimant in Hindi.