Karnataka HC Raises Compensation For 15-Year-Old With Brain Injury By Rs 9.78 Lakh, Using Skilled-Worker Wage To Assess Future Loss

The claimant was 15 years old when he sustained a head injury in a road traffic accident on 12 January 2021.

The Tribunal awarded him ₹5,41,705, including ₹4,00,000 for pain, suffering and disability-related loss of amenities, and ₹60,000 for attendant charges.

Seeking enhancement, he appealed under Section 173(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act.

The High Court considered the Tribunal’s award and the evidence concerning the claimant’s injuries and disability.

The appeal was brought under Section 173(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act, which provides for an appeal against a Claims Tribunal’s award.

The Court considered the Supreme Court’s decision in Hitesh Nagjibhai Patel v. Bababhai Nagjibhai Rabari and Another, 2025 INSC 1070, for assessing compensation in cases involving injury to a minor, including assessment of income, multiplier, disability and other heads of compensation.

The Tribunal had relied on Master Mallikarjun v. Divisional Manager, National Insurance.

For this claimant, the Court adopted ₹15,000 per month as income, equivalent to the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority’s notional income for 2021 and, in the Court’s view, on par with the minimum wage of a skilled labourer; it applied 40% future prospects, 35% functional disability and a multiplier of 15.

The Court accepted the Tribunal’s assessment of functional disability at 35%, notwithstanding the doctor’s stated whole-body disability of 62%, because the claimant could perform daily activities with difficulty, had continued his studies, and the neuropsychologist who conducted the assessment had not testified.

Applying the adopted monthly income, 40% future prospects and multiplier of 15, the Court calculated loss of future income at ₹13,23,000.

It separately assessed pain and suffering at ₹80,000, loss of amenities at ₹60,000, a parent’s loss of income during the two-month laid-up period at ₹30,000, attendant and conveyance charges at ₹5,000, and medical expenses at ₹21,705.

It awarded the claimant an additional ₹9,78,000, 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 enhanced amount with interest within six weeks; 25% of the enhancement was to be released to the claimant and 75% placed in a five-year fixed deposit in his name.