Karnataka HC increases aid for girl who lost leg in accident

BENGALURU: Coming to the rescue of an accident victim whose left leg was amputated below the knee when she was seven years old, the Karnataka high court awarded her a compensation of Rs 27.9 lakh, far above what the MACT had settled.
The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) had ordered the victim, Supriya, a resident of Harihar town in Davanagere district, be given Rs 7,24,315 with 6% interest, as compensation.
In addition, the HC awarded her Rs 10.4 lakh towards four sets of artificial limbs and another Rs 5 lakh vis-a-vis maintenance of those artificial limbs throughout her life. The National Insurance Company has to pay this.
Setting aside the tribunal's direction fixing the liability on the insured, ie, the owner of the offending car, the HC pointed out that the car is nothing but a LMV as defined by the SC in Mukund Dewangan's case.
Girl's counsel cited SC order awarding 53L to 6-year-old
Here is a case of a girl who was aged about seven years and she has to live with the amputation. Hence, she is entitled for an amount of Rs 2.6 lakh each for four artificial limbs throughout her life and the cost would be Rs 10.4 lakh. The Supreme Court also awarded the compensation of Rs 5 lakh for maintenance and that is in a case of a 37-year-old victim," Justice HP Sandesh noted, referring to the decision of the top court in Mohd Saber alias Shabir Husain vs UPSRTC case.
Supriya was seriously injured when the car hit her while she was walking on the side of the road. She was in hospital from October 15, 2013, to November 9, 2013, and again from April 14 to 19, 2014. Her left leg was also amputated. On January 12, 2017, the tribunal awarded Rs 7,24,315 with 6% interest as compensation and fixed the liability upon the car owner.
Challenging the order, the owner claimed that the tribunal had committed an error in fastening the liability upon him and argued that the driver was having a driving licence, which was valid up to November 7, 2029, to drive a non-transport vehicle.
Counsel for Supriya cited a judgment in a similar case wherein the SC had awarded Rs 53 lakh as compensation to an accident victim who was six years old.