Malunion and secondary osteoarthritis justified assessing functional disability at 18%.

The claimant sought compensation for injuries sustained in a road traffic accident on 30 November 2021, allegedly caused by the rash and negligent driving of a lorry.

The Tribunal awarded ₹2,91,920, including compensation for disability, pain and suffering, medical expenses, laid-up-period income, food and nourishment, and attendant and conveyance charges.

The claimant appealed under Section 173(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, seeking enhancement, contending that the disability assessment and awards for pain and suffering and laid-up-period income were inadequate and that no amount had been awarded for loss of amenities.

1. Whether the Tribunal’s assessment of functional disability and future loss of income required enhancement in light of the claimant’s injuries and medical evidence.

2. Whether the awards for pain and suffering, loss of amenities, and income during the laid-up period should be enhanced.

The appeal was brought under Section 173(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, which provides for an appeal against an award of a Claims Tribunal.

In assessing compensation, the Court considered the claimant’s age, the applicable multiplier, income, functional disability, and the impact of the injuries on his earning capacity and daily life.

The judgment cited no precedents or specific statutory provision governing the calculation of individual heads of compensation; it assessed the amounts on the evidence and circumstances of the case.

The Court accepted the Tribunal’s use of a multiplier of 9 and a monthly notional income of ₹15,000, but, considering the mal-united fractures, secondary osteoarthritis of the right hip, and the doctor’s evidence, assessed functional disability at 18% rather than 14.6%.

It consequently recalculated future loss of income as ₹2,91,600 (₹15,000 × 12 × 9 × 18%).

Given the injuries and the claimant’s age, the Court enhanced pain and suffering to ₹70,000, awarded ₹50,000 for loss of amenities, and allowed three months’ income during the laid-up period, amounting to ₹45,000.

It left the Tribunal’s amounts for medical expenses, food and nourishment, and attendant and conveyance charges unchanged.

The insurer was directed to deposit the enhanced amount with interest before the Tribunal within six weeks, and the claimant was entitled to release of the entire enhanced compensation.