Page 54 - The Insurance Times July 2025

Insurance Caselaws

Motor Accident Claim: The Victim's Na- based this observation on the ruling of the Apex Court in
Mohan Soni vs. Ram Avtar Tomar And Others. (2012) 2 SCC
ture of Work Must Be Considered When 267. Two distinct people may experience different effects from
Evaluating Physical Disability: Supreme the same injury. For a farmer or rickshaw puller, losing a leg

Court could be the end of their ability to make a living. On the other
hand, a person who works a desk job in an office may be less
Case Title: Sarnam Singh V. Shriram General affected by losing a limb. Due to an accident, the appellant
in this case had to have his right lower limb amputated after
Insurance
suffering injuries. He was employed by Bharat Hotels as a
gunman before the incident. But he lost his job because of
Summary the mishap that resulted in the amputation of his right lower
The Supreme Court and the Apex Court have emphasized the limb. The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal granted him Rs.
importance of evaluating physical disabilities in vehicle acci- 34,29,800 in compensation. After accounting for his func-
dent cases. The division bench, consisting of Justices Abhay S. tional handicap at 100% in relation to his work as a gunman,
Oka and Rajesh Bindal, based this on the ruling of the Apex Rs. 30,84,800/-was given out of the total compensation.The
Court in Mohan Soni vs. Ram Avtar Tomar And Others. The insurance company then filed an appeal with the Delhi High
appellant, a gunman, lost his job due to an amputation of his Court challenging the Tribunal's decision. Despite the
right lower limb. appellant's right lower limb amputation, the High Court low-
ered the compensation by Rs. 4,92,205/-, calculating his loss
The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal awarded him Rs. of earning ability at 80%.
34,29,800 in compensation, accounting for his functional
handicap at 100%. However, the Delhi High Court challenged According to the petitioner, the functional disability ought to
this decision, lowering the compensation by Rs. 4,92,205/-, be considered 100%, not 80%. According to the argument, it
calculating his loss of earning ability at 80%. The appellant's was incorrect to lower the appellant's loss of earning ability
insurance company argued that the High Court had corrected to 80% even if he had an amputation because of the acci-
an error in the computation of compensation based on his dent that led to his termination from the military.The Respon-
disability certificate. The Apex Court overturned the High dent Insurance Company claimed that the High Court had
Court's ruling, determining that the Tribunal was correct in corrected an error in the Tribunal's computation of compen-
determining his 100% functional handicap. sation based on the appellant's disability certificate. Accord-
ing to the hospital's certificate, he had a lifelong physical
About the case impairment of 85% and there was little chance that his con-
The Supreme Court noted on Tuesday that while determin- dition would get better.
ing the amount of compensation to be awarded in vehicle
accident cases, the physical handicap resulting from the acci- The Apex Court overturned the High Court's ruling and de-
dent must be evaluated in light of the type of job being per- termined that, considering the fact that the man was em-
formed by the injured parties. ployed as a gunman and that his injuries from the accident
caused him to lose his job, the Tribunal was correct to deter-
A division bench consisting of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Rajesh mine that he had a 100% functional handicap.We discover
Bindal noted that any physical disability resulting from an that the aforementioned appellant was employed by Bharat
accident must be evaluated in light of the type of work that Hotel Limited as a shooter. He lost his job on May 31, 2015,
the person with the disability performs. The division bench due to an amputation above the knee on his right leg. There

48 July 2025 The Insurance Times