Karnataka HC Raises Compensation To Rs 3.37 Lakh For 55-Year-Old Pedestrian Injured By KSRTC Bus

On 24 March 2015, Shankarappa, then aged about 55, was struck by a KSRTC bus while crossing a road in Hunsur and sustained multiple fractures and other injuries.

He was treated as an inpatient from 24 to 29 March 2015.

The Tribunal awarded him Rs. 2,01,500 with interest at 6% per annum.

The judgment contains inconsistencies about the appellant: its cause title names the KSRTC Divisional Manager, while the opening paragraph describes the claimant as the appellant seeking enhancement; it also refers to the Insurance Company filing the appeal.

The Court considered the claim and appeal under the Motor Vehicles Act, including Section 173(1), identified in the appeal description.

It applied the KSLSA guidelines for notional income, taking the 2015 monthly notional income as Rs. 9,000.

For loss of future income due to disability, it used the multiplier method, applying the monthly income, 12 months, a multiplier of 13, and a disability factor of 15%.

The judgment cites no precedent or further statutory provision.

The Court found that the claimant’s asserted agricultural income of Rs. 1,50,000 per annum was not established by the RTC, which showed no standing crops.

It therefore applied the KSLSA notional income of Rs. 9,000 per month instead of the Tribunal’s Rs. 6,000.

Although the disability certificate recorded 65% whole-body disability, the Court retained a 15% disability factor in calculating future income loss, yielding Rs. 2,10,600 (Rs. 9,000 × 12 × 13 × 15%).

It also increased compensation for pain and suffering, loss of income during the laid-up period, and loss of amenities, while leaving medical expenses and conveyance, nourishment and attendant charges unchanged.

The Insurance Company was directed to deposit the compensation within six weeks of receiving the certified judgment.

The appeal was disposed of.