Supreme Court upholds Rs. 35 lakh compensation for injured lawyer

The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the award of compensation of Rs. 35.7 lakhs given by the Madras High Court to a 29 year old lawyer, who was injured in an accident and had suffered 70 per cent permanent disability..A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice HL Dattu and Justice Arun Mishra dismissed the challenge to the judgment of the Madras High by the United India Insurance Company. The claimant/ respondent lawyer was represented by Senior Advocate Subramonium Prasad along with a team from Temple Law Firm of advocates Vipin Nair, PB Suresh and Prithu Garg..The lawyer, S Achuthan was on his motorbike when he was hit by an auto rickshaw. This resulted in severe injuries to him and the pillion..Achutan filed a Claim before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT), Chennai claiming a compensation of Rs. 51 lakhs. The MACT awarded him approximately Rs. 24.5 lakh as compensation. Both, the claimant and the Insurance Company preferred appeals before the Madras High Court..The High Court enhanced the compensation to Rs.35.7 lakh with interest. The High Court noted that the claimant couldn’t walk without crutches or without help of others as a result of the accident and would, therefore, be unable to carry on in the legal profession..The Insurance Company challenged this decision before the Supreme Court by way of a Special Leave Petition. When the matter was taken up as item 14 in court 1 yesterday, the court observed that the disability of the claimant was so high that it had robbed him of his future in the profession. The Court proceeded to dismiss the appeal, thereby upholding the enhanced compensation awarded by the High Court..The Supreme Court’s decision might have ramifications in cases involving MACT claims vis-a-vis lawyers since the High Court judgment had discussed the various parameters to be considered in such cases.