Delhi HC enhances compensation to over Rs 1 crore to woman who suffered disability after road accident

New Delhi [India], April 17 : The Delhi High has recently enhanced the amount of compensation to more than Rs One crore to a woman suffering from disability after a road accident in the year 2007.

Earlier she was granted a compensation award of Rs. 47 Lakhs. Now the award is enhanced by Rs 65,09,779.

The victim was 14 years old schoolgirl in 2007 at the time of the accident. Now she is 30 years old.

The high court said that the total compensation awarded to the appellant Jyoti Singh is Rs.1,12,59,389 payable at the rate of 7.5% p.a. w.e.f. 10.03.2008 , the date of filing of the claim petition before the MACT, till its realization.

An amount of Rs.5,80,093 has already been paid towards 'medical expenses'. The enhanced amount to be paid to her in eight weeks.

The bench of Justice Nazmi Waziri passed the judgement on April 11 after hearing the appeals in the matter.

The appellant was a 14-year-old adolescent, enjoying all the fun of a school-going girl of her age, till the fateful afternoon of December 1, 2007 when returning from school, she met with a debilitating motor-vehicular accident. She has been rendered wheelchair-bound for the rest of her life, the judgement reads.

The Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal ('MACT') has awarded her a compensation of

Rs.47,49,610/-. She had challenged it on various grounds. The insurer too had also challenged contending that the awarded amount was on the higher side.

The appellant contended that she has suffered 100% disability, therefore, the compensation should be enhanced. She relies upon the dicta of Supreme Court judgement which, while dealing with a similar case of a 12-year-old school-going girl having suffered 100% disability, awarded enhanced compensation.

Dr. B. Kanhar, Senior Orthopedic Surgeon, Aruna Asaf Ali Government Hospital, deposed that Jyoti has suffered 100% permanent disability in relation to her spine and both her lower limbs and the condition is not likely to improve.

Another doctor, Dr. Mathew Varghese, Head of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, St.

Stephen's Hospital, Delhi, who too has opined that the appellant suffers from serious medical conditions, which are not likely to improve throughout her life.

Advocate Saurabh Kansal, the counsel for the claimant, submitted that insofar as the claimant's disability and debilitation in movement is absolute and permanent, means she will be lifelong

wheelchair-bound, unable to move on her own without the assistance of an attendant, even for small needs like going to the washroom, she suffers from 100% disability of spine and both lower limbs. Her functional disability too is 100%.

The counsel also submitted that she has lost movement of her body below the stomach including loss of control over bladder and bowel movements. She is and will be completely dependent on attendants throughout her life.

The award of compensation was challenged on the ground that many pecuniary heads have not been duly considered by the Tribunal and the claims under those heads have been declined without any sustainable justification.

The High Court noted that the two medical opinions clearly establish that the appellant Jyoti suffers from 100% functional disability. Her medical condition is even more aggravated because she has virtually no control of her bladder and bowel movements.

She will require regular suppositories for bowel movements, regular exercise, regular urine evaluation for culture and evaluation of kidney function to exclude any renal failure, the bench noted.

Since she is debilitated below the stomach, she would need diapers all the time and bowel monitoring. This alertness and care would need to be maintained for all her life.

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