Insurance Caselaws

Motor Accident Claim: The Victim's Nature of Work Must Be Considered When Evaluating Physical Disability: Supreme Court

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Case Title: Sarnam Singh V. Shriram General Insurance

Summary

The Supreme Court and the Apex Court have emphasized the importance of evaluating physical disabilities in vehicle accident cases. The division bench, consisting of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Rajesh Bindal, based this on the ruling of the Apex Court in Mohan Soni vs. Ram Avtar Tomar And Others. The appellant, a gunman, lost his job due to an amputation of his right lower limb.

The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal awarded him Rs. 34,29,800 in compensation, accounting for his functional handicap at 100%. However, the Delhi High Court challenged this decision, lowering the compensation by Rs. 4,92,205/-, calculating his loss of earning ability at 80%. The appellant's insurance company argued that the High Court had corrected an error in the computation of compensation based on his disability certificate. The Apex Court overturned the High Court's ruling, determining that the Tribunal was correct in determining his 100% functional handicap.

About the case

The Supreme Court noted on Tuesday that while determining the amount of compensation to be awarded in vehicle accident cases, the physical handicap resulting from the accident must be evaluated in light of the type of job being performed by the injured parties.