Madras HC Raises Compensation To ₹29.32 Lakh For Bedridden Stitching-Unit Owner, Allowing His Heirs To Withdraw the Award

The claimant was injured in a 2009 road accident when a lorry struck a roadside tree, causing a branch to fall on him.

He sustained a spinal fracture and other injuries, and evidence indicated 100% functional disability and that he was bedridden and dependent on assistance.

The Tribunal assessed his monthly income at ₹9,000, applied a multiplier of 11 and awarded ₹22,50,000.

He appealed seeking enhancement; he died during the appeal, and his legal representatives were brought on record.

The High Court found no dispute regarding the accident or negligence and considered the appeal on quantum.

Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, provides for an appeal against an award of the Claims Tribunal.

In assessing loss of earning capacity, the Court applied the multiplier method and relied on Sarla Verma v. Delhi Transport Corporation, which guides selection of the multiplier by reference to age, and National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi, which addresses addition of future prospects.

The Court treated the claimant’s functional disability as 100% on the medical evidence and, for a claimant aged about 55, applied multiplier 11 and 10% future prospects.

Although the claimant had claimed monthly earnings of ₹60,000 and produced bank records showing substantial transactions, he had not filed relevant income-tax returns to substantiate that amount.

The Court nevertheless found that his stitching business and skilled work were supported by the evidence, including the bank-account evidence, and held that the Tribunal’s ₹9,000 assessment was inadequate; it fixed income at ₹11,000 per month.

Applying 10% future prospects and multiplier 11 to the established 100% functional disability, it assessed loss of earning capacity at ₹15,97,200.

Given the claimant’s long-term bedridden condition and dependence on an attendant, the Court enhanced attendant charges to ₹4,80,000, nutrition to ₹2,00,000 and transport expenses to ₹1,00,000, while leaving the other heads unchanged.

By its correction order, the Court fixed the total compensation at ₹29,32,475.80, rounded in the operative order to ₹29,32,000, in place of the Tribunal’s ₹22,50,000 award.

The enhanced amount carries interest at 7.5% per annum from the date of the claim petition until deposit; the insurer was directed to deposit the amount, after crediting any sums already deposited, within six weeks of receiving the judgment.