The Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court recently, while upholding the compensation given to a man whose right leg was amputated after an accident, said money cannot “renew the physical frame” but the focus is on awarding “just, fair and reasonable compensation”.
The single judge bench of Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke observed that in such cases it is well settled that a man is not compensated for physical injury but for the loss which he suffers as a result of injury.
“His loss is not in having the stiff parts of the body, it is inability to live a full life, his inability to enjoy those amenities which depend on freedom of movement and his inability to earn as much as he used to earn or could have earned…” the court observed.
The accident occurred in 1991 when the car in which one Toufic Ahmed was travelling, rammed a tree leaving him seriously injured. The driver of the car died while Ahmed had to amputate his right leg below the knee resulting in 70% permanent disability.
In August 2009, the Motor Vehicles Claims Tribunal (MACT) awarded Rs 3,40,768 to the victim with an interest of 9% per annum. In response, the United India Insurance Co. challenged the order of MACT in the Bombay High Court.
It was argued by the company that because Ahmed did not have a valid driver’s licence, as required by the insurance policy, it had limited liability and requested that the case be dismissed.
The court noted that the insurance policy made no mention of the limited liability that was being covered.
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