In Brief
A 22-year-old trainee merchant navy officer suffered permanent 50% disability to his right arm in a motor accident on 21 March 2000. The High Court had awarded Rs. 8.80 lakh. The Supreme Court enhanced the compensation to Rs. 22 lakh with 8% interest, holding that compensation must be separately quantified under defined heads: medical expenses and loss of earnings (Rs. 10 lakh), future medical expenses (Rs. 3 lakh), pain and trauma (Rs. 3 lakh), loss of marriage prospects (Rs. 3 lakh), and loss of expectation of life (Rs. 3 lakh). The Court emphasized that the High Court's failure to separately itemize compensation under each head had resulted in grossly inadequate overall compensation."
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