Summary of this article
Supreme Court raises accident compensation to Rs 3.77 crore.
Court links disability assessment to open-market earning capacity.
Separate death claim compensation of Rs 82.56 lakh upheld.
The Supreme Court (SC) has raised compensation to Rs 3.78 crore for a woman who has suffered complete blindness, serious pelvic injuries, and a permanent colostomy in a 2011 road accident, according to the SC judgment notice.
Compensation Linked To Earning Capacity
The Bench has held that a victim’s earning capacity has to be assessed in the open job market. The fact that a person has kept their job after an accident cannot by itself establish that there has been little loss of earning capacity.
The woman, who was 35 at the time of the accident, had worked as a deputy group manager with IBM Daksh in Gurugram. Her annual cost to the company has risen from Rs 16 lakh to Rs 19 lakh after the accident. However, records have shown that she has needed specialised software, flexible working hours, and other workplace accommodations to perform her duties.
Career Growth And Disability Assessment
Her employer has also issued a career-growth letter indicating that her professional progression has been affected. She has missed potential advancement to senior positions including general manager, director, and vice-president.
The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) had initially assessed her functional disability at 60 per cent and awarded Rs 1.36 crore. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had raised the compensation to Rs 2.94 crore after assessing the disability at 80 per cent and adding 50 per cent towards future prospects.
The SC has subsequently relied on a fresh assessment by a multidisciplinary Medical Board at Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital. The Board has assessed her permanent physical impairment at 100 per cent.
Based on this assessment, the Court has calculated the loss of future income at Rs 2.42 crore, using 100 per cent functional disability, 50 per cent future prospects and a multiplier of 16. It has also increased amounts for attendant charges, future medical expenses, pain and suffering, and loss of marriage prospects.
The final compensation has been fixed at Rs 3.78 crore, with interest of 7.5 per cent per annum from the date of filing of the claim petition.
Separate Death Compensation Claim
The Court has also dismissed appeals relating to the death of the motorcycle rider in the same accident. His parents and the injured woman were claimants in the separate death compensation case.
The MACT had awarded Rs 82.56 lakh in that claim and had applied a multiplier of 16 based on the deceased’s age of 33 years.
The SC has upheld this approach, holding that the multiplier has to be based on the deceased’s age rather than the age of the dependants. It has also upheld the finding that the injured woman had not established her status as the deceased’s legally wedded wife.
Her share of the death compensation has therefore not been increased beyond the Rs 7.5 lakh awarded by the High Court.
