HC directs insurance company to pay ₹40.35 lakh in addition to ₹1.11 crore to paralyzed accident victim

MUMBAI: Bombay High Court increases compensation for road accident victim rendered vegetative to ₹1.52 crore for lifelong care and suffering.

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court recently enhanced compensation to a victim of a road accident that rendered him vegetative. An additional ₹40.35 lakh in damages is to be paid to the 33-year-old by the United India Insurance Company Ltd for the lifelong need for medical care, physiotherapy, and a personal attendant.

Mumbai, India - September 03, 2021: Bombay High Court at Fort, in Mumbai, India, on Friday, September 03, 2021. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times) (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

On July 4, 2016, 25-year-old Atul Dattaray Wadhane was travelling to Borivali on his motorcycle. When he reached the Pramila Nagar Junction in Dahisar, a school bus taking a sharp turn dashed against Wadhane’s vehicle, injuring him with a cervical spine fracture and spinal cord rupture. Wadhane was rendered paraplegic and bedridden after the accident.

The police had registered a First Information Report (FIR) and filed a chargesheet against the bus driver, Sabastian Panthikulangara. Immediately after this, Wadhane, through a lawyer, approached the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT), seeking compensation for life-altering injuries and permanent disability. The accident occurred due to the bus driver’s negligence, who was also allegedly speeding and took a right turn without using the indicator, he said. Panthikulangara, to prove his innocence, contended that he was driving at a speed of 21-25 kmph, and it was the bike that collided against the front side of his bus.

The tribunal awarded a compensation of ₹1,11,64,740 to be paid to Wadhane by his United India Insurance Company Ltd. for the pain, suffering, functional disability, and loss of amenities and marriage prospects. However, both the insurance company and Wadhane approached the Bombay High Court in 2022, challenging the tribunal’s decision. While the insurance company sought a reduction of the compensation, Wadhane sought an enhancement of the award.

During cross-examination, a doctor at the Balaji Hospital in Bhayander who treated Wadhane when he was admitted twice for surgeries said his patient was unable to move from the bed on his own, which left his neurological damage unhealed. According to him, Wadhane was suffering from 70% permanent partial disability. Another doctor from the hospital stated that Wadhane required continuous physiotherapy, neurorehabilitation, and medication. The counsel for the insurance company submitted that the tribunal had considered the evidence on record, including anticipated future medical expenses, before awarding the compensation. This in itself was excessive, so the high court cannot direct the company to pay interest on the amount of future medical expenses, argued the counsel for the company.

Considering the increasing day-to-day cost of living due to the ongoing inflation, the single-judge bench of justice Shivkumar Dige observed that denying interest on the awarded amount for future medical expenses would be unjust. The court noted that Wadhane is in a vegetative state, entirely immobile, and dependent on others for every basic function.

“He is a 25-year-old young man whose dreams and aspirations have been tragically extinguished. He now lies bedridden, staring in a single direction with no control over his body or life. His pain and suffering cannot be quantified merely in monetary terms or equated with the rate of interest alone,” the court noted.

Calculating the appropriate compensation for Wadhane, the high court decided that he is entitled to an enhanced compensation of ₹1,52,00,100, which is an additional ₹40,35,360 to its original compensation. “The claimant is entitled to this amount,” the court concluded.