Injuries too can hit income, says Karnataka high court

BENGALURU: Awarding more than ₹6.1 lakh compensation to petitioner Abdul from Hubballi, the Dharwad bench of the Karnataka HC said that in accident cases, linking the 'loss of future prospects' only to disability arising from amputation defies logic. "Loss of income can be due to injuries too."
Injuries sans amputation can also hit income: HC
Bengaluru: In motor accident cases, linking the 'loss of future prospects' component only to disability arising from amputation of limbs defies logic and has no sanction of law, the high court's Dharwad bench held in a recent judgment.
A division bench comprising justices Krishna S Dixit and P Krishna Bhat awarded more than Rs 6.1 lakh compensation with 9% interest (including Rs 2.7 lakh under loss of future prospects) to petitioner Abdul from Hubballi. The bench said "loss of future prospects" also has to be factored in, notwithstanding the fact that it was not a case of death but of injury without amputation, resulting in whole-body disability to the extent of 20%, which ultimately has a bearing on reduced earning capacity. "It is undoubtedly true that it is not a part of the statutory law governing the field of award of compensation in motor vehicle accident cases. But, courts are enjoined under law to award "just compensation" and no compensation can be regarded as just unless the law is capable of reinventing itself by making proper adjustments as the needs of the time require," the bench said in its order.
"...Judges sometimes make the law if the statutes made by Parliament fall short of meeting the requirements of the time," it added.
Collision and fracture
A tailor, Abdul, 40, was seriously injured on December 31, 2009 while returning to Hubballi from Kerur in a state transport (NWKRTC) bus around 9.30pm. The bus collided with a truck, which was parked partly by the side of the road and partly on the asphalted portion, and was not clearly visible. The impact of the collision left Abdul with an open fracture below the left knee. He also suffered certain other injuries. The fracture necessitated fixing of DCP plates and screws and K-wire fixation, on which he spent Rs 1.9 lakh. He was in hospital for 49 days.
He then moved the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal at Hubballi, which by an order dated September 17, 2016, awarded him Rs 5.2 lakh with 9% interest. Holding that the truck was partially parked on the road, the tribunal fixed 30% liability on the insurer.
Abdul challenged the verdict, seeking higher compensation. New India Assurance Company Ltd, the insurer of the truck, also questioned the order, saying the entire liability should have been fixed upon NWKRTC and the bus driver was at fault.
However, the division bench partly allowed both appeals, pointing out that the tribunal could not have ignored the fact that being a tailor, the claimant required a fully functional pair of lower limbs. "Any disability, therefore, to any limb of the body which has a role to play in the functional-economic sense indubitably causes its effect on the whole body, warranting curial intervention in its reparative and recompensing role," the bench noted in its order.