| Headnote |
Motor Vehicles Act, 1988: Compensation – Motor accident – Pillion rider – 21 years old at the time of accident – Earning Rs. 4500/- per month – Suffered severe head injuries and totally immobilized and initially remained admitted in hospital for 191 days – He also suffered severe impairment of cognitive power with hemiparesis and total aphasia and the prognosis for him was 69% permanent disability – Tribunal determined compensation at Rs. 5,74,320 by applying multiplier of 17 – High Court quantified a higher sum of Rs. 9,38,952/- as compensation, by adding 40% as future prospect, Rs.100,000 towards additional medical expenses post hospitalization – In the instant appeal, claimant prayed for adding expenses for services of attendant/bystander on the ground that he was unable to perform day to day activities and requires constant support even for the confined life that he is leading – Held: The Motor Vehicles Act is in the nature of social welfare legislation and its provisions make it clear that the compensation should be justly determined – A person, therefore, is not only to be compensated for the injury suffered due to the accident but also for the loss suffered on account of the injury and his inability to lead the life he led, prior to the life altering event – In the instant case, claimant with seriously impaired cognitive and physical capabilities would be needing full time assistance even for the confined life that he is leading – The Presiding Judge in the Tribunal had also noticed that the claimant would require the assistance of a bystander/attendant for all his movements – In view of this, annual expenses for the attendant is quantified at Rs.60,000/- and with multiplier of 18, the additional compensation payable under the bystander head would be Rs.10,80,000/- – Further, for a person suffering severe cognitive impairment and 69% disability, recurring medical treatment is inevitable and bearing in mind the additional expenses already incurred, future medical expenses is enhanced to Rs.3,00,000/- (from Rs.1,00,000/-) – In so far as claimant’s loss of earning capacity was concerned, though the physical disability was assessed at 69%, the functional disability was 100% – In such circumstances, his loss of earning capacity must be fixed at 100% – As his monthly income was Rs.4,500/-, adding 40% future prospect thereto, monthly loss of earning quantified as Rs.6,300/- – Thus, compensation for 100% loss of earning for the claimant would be Rs.13,60,800/- (Rs.6,300 x 12 x 18) – As regards 6 months earning loss during hospitalization, claimant was awarded Rs.12,000/- for his hospitalization in the aftermath of the accident – But the lower figure did not correctly correspond to six months loss, when the income was Rs. 4500/- p.m. – Accordingly, the amount under this head is corrected as Rs.27,000/- (Rs.4,500 x 6) – Total compensation of Rs.27,67,800 ordered. |
