How 'future prospects' helped a family secure higher accident compensation

NEW DELHI: The Andhra Pradesh high court has increased compensation for the family of a 27-year-old man killed in a road accident involving an Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) bus, raising the amount from Rs 7.28 lakh to Rs 10.06 lakh. The court increased the amount on its own as it held that the tribunal had not properly accounted for the deceased's future earning potential.What was the dispute about?Vadde Rajagopal, a credit officer, died on 30 March 2008 when his motorcycle collided with an APSRTC bus near Kurnool. His father and two sisters approached the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal (MACT) seeking Rs 8,58,968 in compensation. The tribunal accepted that the bus driver was negligent, but calculated the deceased's income at only Rs 5,000 a month and awarded Rs 7,28,000 in compensation.APSRTC challenged this award before the high court, arguing that the deceased himself had been negligent and contributed to the accident and that his income had not been properly proved.It further contended that his father and sisters were not actually financially dependent on him.What the court said?Justice A. Hari Haranadha Sarma turned down all three arguments made by APSRTC. On the question of who was at fault, the court said APSRTC did not bring any witnesses to support its case. On the other hand, the police records and two witnesses both said the bus driver was at fault. The court agreed with the tribunal that the bus driver was negligent.On the matter of compensation, the court said the tribunal had not valued the deceased man's future earnings properly. Even though the family had not asked for more money, the court said that since the man was young, his income should be increased by 30 percent to account for future growth. This raised his monthly income to about Rs 6,500, or Rs 78,000 a year.After removing one-third of this amount for his personal expenses, the court was left with Rs 52,000 a year. Multiplying this by 18 (the same multiplier the tribunal had used), the court fixed the loss of dependency at Rs 9,36,000.The court also noticed that the family had not been given money for two things, which is loss of companionship and loss of estate. So it added Rs 15,000 for funeral costs and Rs 15,000 for loss of estate. The deceased man's father was also given Rs 40,000 for losing his son's companionship and support.The judge also explained that courts are allowed to increase compensation even if the family hasn't filed their own appeal. He said courts should focus on giving fair compensation to victims, rather than getting stuck on technical rules.