Kumar vs Lakshmi P. and Others

S.N. Satyanarayana, J.

The claimant in MVC No. 1734/2008 on the file of M.A.C.T., Tumkuru, has come up in this appeal seeking enhancement of compensation awarded by the Tribunal for the injury suffered by him in the accident that occurred on 12.09.2008.

Though this appeal is at the stage of admission, since lower Court record is received, at the request of learned counsel appearing for both the parties, it is taken up for final disposal.

Brief facts leading to this appeal are as under:-The claimant, a pillion rider on motorcycle bearing registration No. KA-06-EA-3731, met with an accident on 12.09.2008 at about 5:00 p.m. near Raghavendraswamy road, Madhugiri town, involving lorry bearing registration No. AP-20:X-643 belonging to the 1st respondent and insured with the 2nd respondent. The said accident is not in dispute. It is also not in dispute that in the said accident, claimant suffered the following injuries:--

"i. fracture of tibia (L) knee;

ii. fracture of fibula, at articular proximal;

iii. Irregular lacerated wound present on right occipital region;

iv. Tenderness present over right glutal region;"

The records would disclose that immediately after the accident, the claimant was taken to General hospital, Madhugiri, for first aid and thereafter, shifted to Columbia Asia hospital at Bengaluru, wherein he was inpatient for about 9 days i.e., from 12.09.2008 to 20.09.2008, during which period, surgery was conducted to set right the fracture of tibia and fibula of his left leg. Subsequently, the claim petition was filed by him seeking compensation.

In the proceedings before the Tribunal, the claimant examined himself as PW.1 and got marked documents as per Exs. P1 to P9. No oral or documentary evidence was adduced on behalf of the respondents. Though the Tribunal has appreciated the material available on record, it has awarded miserly compensation in a sum of Rs. 13,900/-, which is totally unacceptable, for the injury suffered by the claimant. On going through the entire record, it is seen that the injury suffered by the claimant and the fact that he was hospitalized for about 9 days is not in dispute. When that being the case, such abysmally low compensation awarded by the Presiding Officer, MACT., does not stand to reason and it is a serious matter. An officer, who is heading MACT., cannot be so insensitive and hypertechnical in saying that in the absence of prescriptions, medical bills furnished by the claimant could not be believed and went to the length of disallowing compensation on all other counts.

In that view of the matter, this Court feel that this is not a case, which is required to be considered for enhancement of compensation. It is a case which requires reassessment of the material on record for awarding compensation. Accordingly, by looking into the LCR, which includes pleadings, oral and documentary evidence, this Court would try to independently assess the compensation, which the claimant is entitled to in MVC No. 1734/2008.

Admittedly, the accident is of the year 2008. The claimant was working as a Tailor and doing agricultural activity prior to the accident. However, the material on record would disclose that the claimant was indeed in possession of a tailoring machine in his residence with which it is stated that he was doing tailoring work. So far as agricultural activity carried out by the claimant is concerned, there is no material available on record. In any event, even assuming that the claimant is not a Tailor and he is just a coolie, in the year 2008, he must have been earning anything between Rs. 3,500/- to Rs. 4,000/- per month to eke out his livelihood.

The claimant has suffered fracture of tibia and fibula of his left leg and was hospitalized for about 9 days. Therefore, he is entitled to compensation in a sum of Rs. 40,000/- under the head ''pain and suffering''. He has produced medical bills marked as per Exs. P4 and P5 series, some of which are supported by prescriptions at Ex. P6. The discharge summary at Ex. P7 supports injuries suffered by the claimant, prescriptions and the medical bills. Hence, the claimant is entitled to compensation in a sum of Rs. 66,000/-towards medical expenses.

So far as the expenses towards conveyance, nutritious food and attendant charges is concerned, it is seen that the claimant, a resident of Tumkuru, was admitted to Columbia Asia Hospital, Bengaluru. Therefore, one of his family members must have been either traveling every day from Tumkuru to Bengaluru or residing at Bengaluru to take care of him. In addition to the traveling expenses, for accommodation at Bengaluru, food and other miscellaneous expenses, the claimant would have spent on an average Rs. 500/- to Rs. 600/- per day. He must have visited Bengaluru 3 or 4 times for follow-up treatment and would have spent about Rs. 2,000/- in this regard. Taking these aspects into consideration, compensation in a sum of Rs. 8,000/- is awarded under the head attendant charges, expenses towards nutritious food and conveyance''.

The nature of injury suffered by the claimant would indicate that he would not have been able to do tailoring work for a period of four months, during which period, he would not be earning any income. Taking the income of the claimant notionally at Rs. 4,000/- per month, he would be entitled to compensation towards loss of income during the laid-up period for a period of four months at Rs. 16,000/-.

The material on record would indicate that the claimant has suffered serious injuries, which would cause permanent discomfort to him as well as difficulty in pursuing his avocation for which, he is entitled to compensation in a sum of Rs. 50,000/- towards loss of amenities and future discomfort. Though there is no medical evidence available on record, discharge summary would indicate that implants have been put to the left leg of the claimant and the same are required to be removed at a later point of time. Hence, compensation of Rs. 15,000/- is awarded under the head ''future medical expenses''. With this, the claimant is entitled to reassessed compensation in a sum of Rs. 1,95,000/-.

Accordingly, this appeal is allowed in part. The claimant is entitled to reassessed compensation in a sum of Rs. 1,95,000/- with interest at 6% per annum from the date of the petition till the date of deposit of the entire amount. The 2nd respondent - Insurance Company is directed to deposit the reassessed compensation with interest within four weeks from the date of receipt of the certified copy of this judgment. So far as the amount in deposit is concerned, the same is ordered to be sent to the Tribunal for disbursal to the claimant in the terms stated hereunder. Out of the reassessed compensation, a sum of Rs. 1,50,000/- with proportionate interest is ordered to be kept in the name of the claimant in a fixed deposit in any nationalized Bank for a period of five years with right to receive interest by the claimant periodically. The balance of Rs. 45,000/- with proportionate interest shall be released in favour of the claimant.