Accident claims tribunals must mention nature of injuries & co-relate it to disability: Karnataka High Court

Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka has said that it is expected from the Motor Accident Claims Tribunals to mention the nature of the injuries and the manner how it will translate into functional disability, in the facts and circumstances, especially with reference to the avocation of the claimant. 

"A non-mentioning of the nature of the injuries suffered, or describing them simply as grievous or simple, would not reflect that the tribunals had applied their mind to the nature of the injuries,” Justice CM Joshi noted while partly allowing the appeal filed by an insurance company. 

In the case at hand, a social worker and agriculturist from Aurad taluk, Bidar district, was injured in an accident in November 2015. The tribunal had awarded him a compensation of Rs 10,11,000, holding that Ramesh had suffered 20% partial disability. 

The insurance company challenged the award, contending that the entire calculation of the compensation amount by the tribunal is erroneous. 

The high court noted that the nature of the injuries suffered by the petitioner is nowhere described in the judgement. The court further observed that the judgment referred to the injuries as grievous injuries, but nowhere was it mentioned as to what are those grievous injuries and which of them contributed to the functional disability of the petitioner. 

“In umpteen numbers of judgments of the tribunals, this court observes that the nature of the injuries and the manner how it would translate into functional disability are seldom discussed. The tribunals are jumping to the conclusion on the basis of the disability stated by a medical officer. A non-mentioning of the nature of the injuries suffered; or describing them simply as grievous or simple; would not reflect that the tribunals had applied their mind to the nature of the injuries,” Justice Joshi said. 

The court further said: “Therefore, it is necessary that the officers who are manning the tribunals are to be sensitised with the requirement of mentioning the nature of the injuries suffered by the injured in the judgments. Without the description of injuries and co-relating it to the disability, it is not possible to infer that the tribunals had applied their mind to assess the functional disability.” 

The court examined the doctor’s report, which suggested 31% physical disability and modified the award considering that as per the Lok Adalat table, the petitioner’s notional income was Rs 8,000 per month. The claimant is entitled for a sum of Rs 4,54,800 along with interest at the rate of 6% per annum, the court said.