Whole-body disability includes one-third of lower-limb and one-fourth of upper-limb disability.

The claimant sustained multiple injuries, including fractures to his left humerus and leg, in a road traffic accident on 30 April 2023.

The MACT partly allowed his claim and awarded ₹8,18,224, including compensation for disability, treatment, pain and suffering, and vehicle repairs.

The claimant appealed under Section 173(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, seeking enhancement.

The High Court considered the claimant’s age, injuries, assessed disability, treatment period and vehicle-repair evidence.

1. Whether the compensation awarded by the Tribunal required enhancement in light of the claimant’s income, injuries and disability.

2. Whether the claimant was entitled to increased compensation for repair of his motorcycle.

The appeal was brought under Section 173(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

In assessing compensation, the Court applied the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority’s notional monthly income of ₹16,250 for 2023 and used a multiplier of 13 for the claimant, who was aged 46 at the time of the accident.

For converting limb disability to whole-body disability, it applied one-third of lower-limb disability and one-fourth of upper-limb disability.

The judgment cited no precedent.

The Court found that the Tribunal had used monthly income of ₹16,000 and assessed whole-body disability at 14%.

Applying the 2023 notional income and the stated limb-to-whole-body conversion ratios to the doctor’s evidence of 34% lower-limb and 22% upper-limb disability, it assessed whole-body disability at 16.8% and recalculated loss of future income at ₹4,25,880.

It enhanced pain-and-suffering and loss-of-amenities awards, recalculated four months’ laid-up income, reduced attendant and related charges to reflect 15 days of hospitalisation, and increased vehicle-repair compensation to the amount supported by Ex.P8.

Medical and future-medical expenses were left 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 enhancement.