Tribunal awards Rs 40.91 lakh compensation after woman suffers miscarriage due to accident

New Delhi, Sep 5 (PTI) A Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal has directed an insurance company to pay Rs 40.91 lakh compensation to a woman who suffered miscarriage due to a road accident in 2018.

Presiding officer Shelly Arora was hearing the claim petition of Anshu Kashyap, who suffered injuries after a rashly driven vehicle hit her on December 12, 2018.

The claimant said she had already been certified as disabled owing to dwarfism suffering from 40 per cent disability and the accident rendered her with 84 per cent permanent disability in her lower limbs.

In an order dated September 2, the tribunal held the accident was caused by the driver's "speedy and reckless" driving.

On the point of compensation, the tribunal said the 41-year-old woman lost her six-month-old foetus and compensated her with Rs 5 lakh on that count.

"In such advanced age, without any reproductive assistance, chances of normal pregnancy are very rare, even the success rate of reproductive assistance is also very low. Therefore, even without any conclusive certification by a medical expert, it can at least be inferred that any further possibility of enjoying motherhood for the injured shall be very rare," the order read.

For other losses, it said the woman’s disability had severely impeded her unhindered physical mobility, limiting her capacity to perform routine daily sustenance tasks and she required a wheelchair.

"In view of her medical condition, it is evident that she would require the active assistance of an attendant at least for 12 hours a day," the tribunal said.

The woman was a government school teacher and the disability was stated to inevitably affect her efficiency, mobility, and overall ability to perform her duties.

"While the job of a teacher does not demand heavy physical labour, it still involves tasks like standing for long periods, moving between classrooms, supervising co-curricular activities, and participating in school events; all of which are now likely to be affected," the tribunal said.

It said these limitations may not cause an immediate reduction in her salary, but they would still restrict her chances of competing for certain assignments, postings, or roles that could have offered better pay or additional benefits in the future.

"Because of the injuries and permanent disability, the claimant can no longer enjoy life as she did before the accident. Activities that once gave her joy, such as travelling freely, taking part in social gatherings, or moving about without help, are now limited or not possible at all," the tribunal said.

It directed the vehicle’s insurer, Iffco Tokio General Insurance Co Ltd, to pay a total compensation of around Rs 40.91 lakh for various pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages. PTI MNR MNR AMK AMK