Functional disability must reflect the injury’s impact on the claimant’s specific avocation.

The claimant, a coolie, was injured when a KSRTC bus struck him near the Mysuru Rural Bus Stand on 23 May 2017.

His right lower limb was amputated below the knee.

He sought compensation under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

The Tribunal found the bus driver negligent and awarded Rs.7,38,334, assessing monthly income at Rs.8,000 and whole-body functional disability at 50%.

The claimant appealed, seeking enhancement.

Whether the Tribunal’s award of Rs.7,38,334 was just and reasonable, or required enhancement.

Whether the claimant’s income, functional disability and compensation under the relevant heads should be reassessed in light of his occupation and below-knee amputation.

Under Sections 166 and 168 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, compensation must be just and determined on the evidence.

Where income is not proved by documentary evidence, the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority’s notional income chart may be applied; the Court used Rs.11,000 per month for a 2017 accident.

Under National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi and Pappu Deo Yadav v. Naresh Kumar, future prospects are to be considered in assessing loss of earning capacity arising from permanent disability.

Raj Kumar v. Ajay Kumar and Chanappa Nagappa Muchalagoda v. KSRTC require functional disability to be assessed by reference to the effect of the impairment on the claimant’s specific occupation.

The multiplier applicable to a claimant aged 51–55 is 11 under Sarla Verma v. Delhi Transport Corporation.

The Court accepted Rs.11,000 as the appropriate notional monthly income for the accident year and added 10% future prospects, given the claimant’s self-employment and age of 55.

It considered the practical impact of below-knee amputation on a manual coolie’s ability to stand, walk, balance and carry loads, and assessed whole-body functional disability at 70%, rather than the Tribunal’s 50%.

Applying multiplier 11, it recalculated loss of future income at Rs.11,18,040.

The Court also increased awards for pain and suffering, loss of amenities, treatment-period income, incidental expenses and conveyance, and awarded Rs.5,00,000 for future medical expenses and prosthetic maintenance or replacement.

The award was modified to grant total compensation of Rs.20,06,999, an enhancement of Rs.12,68,665 over the Tribunal’s award.

The Court directed KSRTC to deposit the enhanced compensation within eight weeks.

The order states that the enhanced compensation shall carry interest at 6% per annum from the date of the claim petition, except the Rs.5,00,000 awarded for future medical expenses and prosthetic maintenance or replacement, which shall not carry interest.