The Delhi High Court has granted a woman who was involved in a motor vehicle accident in 2011 when she was an 11-year-old schoolgirl increased compensation of over Rs. 65 lakh. She will spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair due to the accident. Over Rs. 47 lakhs had already been granted to Jyoti Singh by the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal (MACT).
Justice Najmi Waziri stated that she would experience “social and personal embarrassment” as a result of her “uncontrolled bowel movement,” and that a just and equitable compensation should be given to put her in a situation that is as similar as possible to what she may have been in without the harm.
The prize has been increased by Rs. 65,09,779/-. The entire amount of compensation granted to the appellant, Jyoti Singh, is Rs. 1,12,59,389, payable at a rate of 7.5% per annum starting on March 10, 2008, the date the claim petition was submitted to the MACT, till its realisation, the court said.
Her medical bills had already been covered to the tune of Rs. 5,80,093, thus the court ordered that the remaining enhanced sum be paid in eight weeks.
The MACT’s 2011 compensation awards were the subject of two challenges that the court was hearing on behalf of the ICICI Lombard General Insurance Corporation Limited and Jyoti Singh.
The insurance argued that the allocated amount was on the higher side while Jyoti requested more compensation on the grounds that she had experienced 100% impairment.
The award of compensation was contested on the grounds that the MACT failed to properly analyse numerous financial issues and that the claims were rejected without a convincing defence.
When deciding the appeals, Justice Waziri said that the two medical reports amply demonstrated Jyoti’s “100% functional disability.”
She has almost no control over her bowel and urine motions, which makes her medical condition worse. frequent suppositories for bowel movements, frequent exercise, regular urine testing for culture, and regular kidney function testing to rule out any renal failure are all necessary for her. She would require constant diapering and bowel monitoring because of her debilitation below the stomach in order to maintain continence—that is, to prevent bowel leaking from the rectum—the court noted.
The court noted that the physicians had stated that Jyoti’s unusual medical condition required a special diet or high fibre diet and that the attentiveness and care would need to be maintained for the rest of her life.
“All of these extra costs are connected to her chronic medical condition. Such a situation has nothing to do with an average person’s day-to-day activities. They must be covered for a lifetime of suffering since these are particular expenses, the court ruled.
The court granted increased compensation for a number of categories, including reimbursement for lifetime medical expenses, costs for attendants, special diets, future earnings, physiotherapy, and wheelchairs, loss of marriage prospects, expectation of life, or loss of life’s comforts, and pain and suffering.
Justice Waziri had previously noted during the hearing that Delhi’s lack of enabling facilities for people with disabilities is visible and obvious. The Delhi government was then ordered to perform a Social Disability Audit to evaluate the public infrastructure, including roads and other forms of transportation, in terms of accessibility for people with disabilities.
SRISHTI BHARDWAJ, B.COM LL.B
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