Loss of consortium must be awarded to all legal representatives of the deceased, not just the widow.

On August 19, 2022, Chandubhai Karnabhai Bumbadiya died due to a collision between a tractor-trolley he was traveling in and a trailer (Reg. No. RJ-52-GA-7705) driven in a rash and negligent manner.

The claimants (widow and five children) sought compensation of Rs. 30,00,000/-.

The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT), Palanpur, determined the deceased’s age as 65 years based on his eldest son’s birth certificate (showing the son was 39 at the time of the accident) and awarded a total of Rs. 8,40,000/-.

The appellants challenged this award on the ground of quantum, specifically contesting the assessment of age and the inadequacy of conventional damages.

1. Whether the Tribunal erred in assessing the age of the deceased as 65 years instead of 55 years.

2. Whether the compensation awarded under conventional heads (loss of estate, funeral expenses, and consortium) was legally adequate under established precedents.

The court relied on the principles for quantifying compensation in motor accident claims established in National Insurance Company Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi (2017) regarding the standardization of conventional heads, specifically fixing loss of estate and funeral expenses (with inflationary increments).

Fundamental to the award for "spousal, parental, and filial consortium" was the precedent in Magma General Insurance Company Limited v. Nanu Ram @ Chuhru Ram (2018), which mandates that each legal representative/dependent (widow and children) is entitled to a separate award for loss of consortium.

The Court affirmed the Tribunal's determination of the deceased's age at 65 years, noting that the claimants provided no documentary evidence (like an Aadhar card) to support their claim of 55 years, while the record showed the deceased’s eldest son was already 39 years old at the time of the accident.

Regarding conventional heads, the Court found the Tribunal’s award of Rs. 18,000/- each for loss of estate and funeral expenses required a marginal upward adjustment to Rs. 18,150/- to align with the Pranay Sethi benchmarks.

Most significantly, the Court found the Tribunal erred by awarding a lump sum of only Rs. 48,000/- for consortium; following Magma General, it calculated that all six claimants (the widow and five children) were each entitled to Rs. 48,400/-, totaling Rs. 2,90,400/-.

The High Court partly allowed the appeal, enhancing the total compensation from Rs. 8,40,000/- to Rs. 10,82,700/-, ordering an additional compensation of Rs. 2,42,700/- to be paid by the respondent insurance companies at 9% interest per annum from the date of the claim petition.

The Court directed the Tribunal to disburse the amount to the appellants after verifying court fees.