Sudden braking without warning on a busy highway can prove disastrous. The Supreme Court has awarded ₹91,39,253 in enhanced compensation to a 20-year-old engineering student who lost his leg in such an accident, holding the car driver’s conduct as the proximate and primary cause of the tragedy.
A Bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Aravind Kumar, while partly allowing the appeal, observed, “On a highway, high speed of vehicles is expected and if a driver intends to stop his vehicle, he has a responsibility to give a warning or signal to other vehicles moving behind on the road. In the present case, there is nothing on record to suggest that the car driver had taken any such precaution.”
The case stemmed from an accident that occurred in 2017, when the appellant was riding a motorcycle on a highway and collided with a car that had suddenly braked. The impact caused Hakkim to fall onto the road, where a bus coming from behind ran over his leg, leading to its amputation.
The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) had initially awarded ₹91.62 lakh as compensation, but deducted 20% towards contributory negligence, reducing the amount payable to ₹73.29 lakh. The Madras High Court, in appeal, further reduced the amount to ₹58.53 lakh, modifying the liability ratio to 40% for the car driver, 30% for the bus driver, and 30% contributory negligence on the part of the appellant.
The Bench found fault with the High Court’s assessment and enhanced the car driver’s liability from 40% to 50%, while limiting the appellant’s contributory negligence to 20%. It held that the sudden braking of the car without any warning was the root cause of the accident. “The explanation given by the car driver for suddenly stopping his car in the middle of a highway is not a reasonable explanation from any angle,” the Bench said.
The Court also faulted the High Court for reducing the attendant charges from ₹18 lakh, as determined by the MACT, to ₹5 lakh. It held that, given the nature of the appellant’s injuries, complete loss of his left leg, he would require assistance throughout his life. The Court recalculated the compensation by taking the appellant’s notional monthly income at ₹20,000 with 40% future prospects and applying a multiplier of 18, thereby fixing the loss of income at ₹60.48 lakh. It awarded ₹18 lakh towards attendant charges, ₹5 lakh each for future medical expenses and loss of marital prospects, and restored amounts under other heads such as pain and suffering, nourishment, and transportation.
After deducting 20% for contributory negligence, the final compensation payable was quantified at ₹91,39,253 along with interest at 7.5% per annum from the date of filing the claim petition. The Bench directed that the compensation be paid within four weeks, apportioning liability between the insurers of the car and the bus at 50% and 30%, respectively.
Case Title: S. Mohammed Hakkim Vs. National Insurance Co. Ltd. & Ors.
Case No.: Special Leave Petition (Civil) No(S). 28062-63 Of 2023
Coram: Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Aravind Kumar
Advocate for Appellant: Sr. Advs. Haripriya Padmanabhan, Gokulakrisnan, AOR Raghunatha Sethupathy B, Advs. Manoj Kumar, Vishal Sinha, Adv.
Advocate for Respondent: AOR Amit Kumar Singh, Advs. K Enatoli Sema, Chubalemla Chang, Prang Newmai, Shantha Devi Raman, AOR Garvesh Kabra, Adv. Tanisha Gopal
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