Kerala High Court Awards ₹53 Lakh To Woman Disabled After Road Accident As A Minor, Fixes Notional Income More Than Claimed By Counsel

While considering a plea involving a woman, who as a minor in 2006 sufferred serious injuries and was rendered disabled in a road accident, the Kerala High Court enhanced the compensation awarded to her by increasing the notional income for assessing loss of disability after taking into account the girl's severe condition. On July 30, 2006, the petitioner who was a 7-year-old at the time suffered 70% neurological disability and 70% orthopedic disability, whose four limbs are function-less because of the injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident. She was admitted in an orphanage as she had lost her parents in the meantime. She had approached the high court in 2013 after being dissatisfied with the quantum of compensation awarded by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal.Justice C. Pratheep Kumar in his order after going through the report of the Secretary, Thrissur District Legal Service Authority (DLSA) on the present condition of the victim observed thus:“The petitioner was a first standard student at the time of the accident. Because of the injuries sustained in the accident, she could not continue her study. She could not enjoy the life of a child, adolescent and youth, like others. She will miss out the fun of childhood, the excitement of youth, the pleasures of a marital life and she cannot have children. She cannot enjoy the pleasures of life lie other children of her life. She could not enjoy the beauty of nature. She could not even walk inside the room in which she has been practically confined in a small room, for no fault of her”.The Secretary's report stated that Secretary, DLSA, that since the woman cannot do anything of her own, she always needs someone's help, for all her daily necessities. The court further observed that just because the girl's counsel before the tribunal canvassed for fixing the notional income of the petitioner at Rs.3000, does not mean that the insurer can be permitted to take advantage of this suggestion. "In other words, I hold that, this court sitting in appeal, has a duty to award just and reasonable compensation due to the petitioner, irrespective of the said submission made by the counsel," the high court said. As of this year the petitioner is around 25-26 years old. The High Court fixed the functional disability at 100% and added 40% of the income to future prospects and applied a multiplier of 15. Thus, the compensation for loss of disability was fixed at Rs. 15,12,000."In paragraph 8 of the award, the Tribunal observed that her earning capacity has been reduced to 0% and that her disability in effect is 100%. In spite of that, while assessing the loss of disability, only 70% was taken. Since the condition of the petitioner is very pathetic and she has been completely bedridden with all four limbs function-less and she is unable to move from the bed without the help of anybody else, her earning capacity has been reduced to zero and as such her functional disability is to be taken as 100%," the court said. The Court taking into consideration the submission of the Secretary of DLSA that the victim requires bystander assistance around the clock fixed the bystander expense at Rs. 15,00,000. The Court said that there were no actual expenses towards the bystander till now not because she did not need it but due to the fact that the orphanage or her guardian could not afford it.The Court relied on the Supreme Court decision in Chandrappa v Manager, Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance Co. Ltd where the notional income of a coolie at 2006 was fixed at Rs. 5,500. The Court relied on the Supreme Court decisions in Minu Rout and Others v Satya Pradyumma Mohapatra and Others (2013) and the High Court's decision in Sasidharan Namboothiri and Others v Rajeev Kesavan and Others (2025) where the notional income of the victim was fixed over and above the income claimed by the victim. The Court further observed that the Court is not bound by the claim of the counsel as there is no case that the claim made by the counsel was based on the authorization of the claimant.For context, the Tribunal fixed the notional income at Rs. 2000 and adopted a multiplier of 18 without adding any future prospects. The total compensation was fixed at Rs. 11,04,550. After the accident, in the following year, the child lost her mother and father. Her only relative is her sister who is living with her husband and child and was not in a position to take care of the sister. The woman is currently lodged in a room in an orphanage.The Court said that the petitioner cannot be denied her legitimate compensation because she is being taken care of by the orphanage. Court said that if at a future point of time, if the orphanage closes, the victim child would not be in a position to approach the court again for compensation. The institution was itself running on the donations and offerings from the public.Adding compensation under various other heads, the Court fixed the final compensation at Rs. 53,88,750 which is ...

Kerala High Court Awards ₹53 Lakh To Woman Disabled After Road Accident As A Minor, Fixes Notional Income More Than Claimed By Counsel

Manju Elsa Isac

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