Vijender Singh Malik, J.@mdashThis is an appeal brought by the claimant seeking enhancement of compensation. The claim petition brought by the appellant u/s 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 had been allowed by learned Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Yamuna Nagar at Jagadhri (for short ''the Tribunal''), vide award dated 05.01.2012. The appellant sought Rs. 10,00,000/- as compensation for the injuries he suffered in a road side accident that took place on 24.10.2009. Having met with an accident on 24.10.2009, Kuldeep Sharma, the appellant suffered multiple and grievous injuries. He was taken to Government Medical College, Chandigarh from where he was referred to PGI Chandigarh. He suffered head injury, fracture femur left with fracture head frontal bone, fracture tibia besides other injuries. He was operated upon for the head injury. Implant was used to fix the fractured femur and a fixator was applied to fractured tibia. He remained hospitalized upto 12.01.2010. According to him, a sum of Rs. 1,60,000/- was spent in his treatment. He has also claimed that he was selling Namkeen/Kurkure and was earning Rs. 6000/- per month. He has further claimed that he has suffered permanent disability and has lost much financially.
2. The respondents have denied all these averments in their respective written statements.
3. Though there has been involvement of two vehicles in the accident, yet learned Tribunal has held the responsibility for causing the accident to be of respondent No. 1. Learned Tribunal has also held respondents No. 1 to 3 to be jointly and severally liable to pay compensation to the claimant in a sum of Rs. 2,05,422/- with interest @ 7.5% per annum.
4. Learned counsel for the appellant has contended that learned Tribunal has taken the income of the claimant even below the amount earned by an unskilled labourer. According to him, the appellant had suffered 40% disability on account of the accident. According to him, it was multi pronged disability, which rendered the appellant unable to do so many things. According to him, learned Tribunal has assessed the compensation towards loss of future income on account of the disability at Rs. 80,000/-, which is claimed to be grossly low. He has further submitted that the amount of Rs. 75,422/- about which bills are there on the record, is taken as such and nothing is added thereto in the name of the amounts that might have been spent without obtaining bills.
5. Learned counsel for respondent No. 3 has submitted, on the other hand, that the disability is qua a particular limb. According to him, if he is unable to perform some functions of his body on account of the disability, he can start some other work which can be done while sitting. He has, thus, submitted that the amount assessed by the Tribunal as compensation in favour of the appellant, is more than adequate.
6. The appellant is stated by Dr. Depender Sandhu, Medical Officer, PW-5 to have suffered 40% disability on account of being operated case of left side femur and tibia fracture with stiff left knee joint, difficulty in walking, squatting cross legged sitting, infected sinus over lower end of left thigh. It is a case where the sinus is discharging pus and he has to go at regular intervals to the hospital for discharge of the pus. The disability is enough to cause loss to the claimant to the extent of 40% in his future income.
7. Though the claimant has claimed himself to be a Namkeen seller even if he is taken as unskilled labourer and his income is taken at Rs. 4000/-, I find the monthly loss to the appellant towards his future income on account of the disability at Rs. 1600/- per month. Multiplied with 12, the annual loss to the claimant comes to Rs. 19,200/-. The appellant has been of the age of 41 years and the multiplier available to assess the loss of future income in his case would be 14. Thus, the claimant lost a sum of Rs. 2,68,800/- in the name of loss of future income.
8. Taking that the appellant must have not been able to collect all the bills for the amounts spent in his treatment, I take a sum of Rs. 80,000/- as the amount spent by him in his treatment.
9. It is a case where the appellant has suffered infected sinus, which is not healing. He will suffer loss with regard to future enjoyment of life and I assess a sum of Rs. 50,000/- towards loss of future enjoyment of life. Adding to it, a sum of Rs. 20,000/- for pain and suffering, Rs. 10,000/- for attendant charges and Rs. 20,000/- for loss of income during treatment as allowed by the tribunal, I find the appellant to be entitled to Rs. 4,48,800/- as compensation for the injuries and the disability he has suffered in the aforesaid accident. Consequently, the appeal is allowed and the compensation assessed by the Tribunal is enhanced from Rs. 2,05,422/- to Rs. 4,48,800/-, which shall be payable with interest @ 7.5% per annum in the manner allowed by the Tribunal.
