Paraplegia eliminating earning capacity warrants assessment of 100% functional disability.

The claimant was injured when a car in which he was travelling overturned near village Mamala.

He filed a claim under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, seeking ₹10,00,000 in compensation.

The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal awarded ₹6,07,000 with 9% annual interest.

The claimant appealed, challenging the assessment of disability and compensation; the insurer filed a cross-objection challenging the Tribunal’s assessment of monthly income at ₹5,000.

1. Whether the Tribunal erred in assessing the claimant’s monthly income at ₹5,000, as challenged by the insurer.

2. Whether the Tribunal’s assessment of functional disability and resulting compensation was inadequate, including whether the appropriate multiplier was applied.

The Court considered Sections 166 and 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, governing claims for compensation and appeals from awards, respectively.

It applied the multiplier principles in Sarla Verma v. Delhi Transport Corporation & Anr., (2009) 6 SCC 121, under which the multiplier is selected by reference to the claimant’s age; for a claimant aged 58, the appropriate multiplier is 9.

The Court also assessed functional disability by reference to the effect of the injury on the claimant’s earning capacity.

The Court rejected the insurer’s challenge to income because evidence showed that the claimant worked as a vehicle broker and derived income from agricultural land, supporting the Tribunal’s assessment of ₹5,000 per month as reasonable.

The medical evidence established paraplegia requiring lifelong care. Given the resulting inability to pursue his occupation, the Court held that the Tribunal’s 40% functional-disability assessment substantially understated the claimant’s loss of earning capacity and treated it as 100%.

Applying Sarla Verma to the claimant’s age of 58, it adopted a multiplier of 9 and reassessed compensation.

The Court stated total compensation of ₹11,49,000, less the Tribunal’s award of ₹6,07,000, resulting in an enhancement of ₹5,42,000 with interest at 9% per annum from the claim-petition date until realization.

The insurer was directed to deposit the enhanced amount with interest within 12 weeks; the Tribunal was directed to disburse the amount after verification and applicable court-fee deductions.

The component amounts listed in the compensation table do not arithmetically reconcile with the stated total; the figures above reflect the Court’s stated total and enhancement.