In Brief
A 30-year-old mason suffered an above-the-knee amputation after a lorry struck his bicycle in 2017. The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal awarded ₹10.84 lakh compensation based on 70% disability, and the High Court enhanced it to ₹23.86 lakh but made mathematical errors and mechanically applied the medical disability percentage to loss of earning capacity. The Supreme Court held that physical disability percentages cannot be automatically equated to functional/economic disability. For manual laborers like masons whose work requires complete physical mobility, an above-knee amputation constitutes 100% functional disability and total loss of earning capacity. The Court corrected the High Court's computational errors and enhanced total compensation to ₹40.29 lakh with 7.5% interest, emphasizing that injury assessments must consider occupational context, not merely medical metrics.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.