In Brief
A driver employed to operate an auto-rickshaw used as a goods carrier suffered amputation of his right upper limb above the wrist after the vehicle overturned. The Workers' Commissioner granted full compensation for total disablement, but the High Court reduced it to 70% partial disability based on medical opinion. The Supreme Court restored the total disablement award, holding that while medical evidence assessed functional loss at 40–100%, the legal test is whether the injury incapacitates the workman from the work he was performing. Since the appellant could never drive again, he met the statutory definition of total disablement, regardless of medical percentage assessments or licensing issues the insurer had accepted.
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