HC comes to accident victim's rescue

HYDERABAD: Justice Nooty Ram Mohan Rao of the AP High Court said where loss of vision in each eye is so high that the person cannot perform his regular functions, it must be deemed as total disability. The question of assessing the damage caused to an individual in a motor accident is never easy, yet crucial for the court while awarding compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act. In a recent judgment, Justice Ram Mohan Rao enhanced the compensation from Rs 69,000 to Rs 2 lakh. Jigender Singh, a hamali working with Air Road Transport Company, met with an accident when a lorry hit him while he was riding a bicycle on January 4, 1996. Against a claim of Rs 3 lakh, the Motor Accident Tribunal awarded a compensation of Rs 69,000. The claimant suffered multiple injuries including head injuries and also complained of loss of vision. "What baffles me is the assessment made by the tribunal on the disability," Ram Mohan Rao observed while dealing with the degree of disability suffered. It becomes clear that loss of vision to such an extent as to render the claimant unable to perform any work for which eye sight is essential, the percentage of disability in the form of earning capacity is regarded as 100 per cent, he ruled. The court not only enhanced the compensation but directed the authorities concerned to put the amount in a fixed deposit for a minimum lock in period of three years to ensure the claimant is able to lead an honourable life.
27 Apr 2008, 0553 hrs IST , TNNTHE TIMES OF INDIA