Supreme Court Raises Compensation for Blind Accident Victim From ₹2.94 Crore to ₹3.77 Crore

India’s Supreme Court increased compensation for a woman who became completely blind and suffered severe pelvic injuries in a 2011 road accident, raising the award from ₹2.94 crore to ₹3.77 crore.

A bench of Justices SVN Bhatti and NV Anjaria said continued employment could not by itself prove that the woman’s earning capacity remained unaffected. The court said functional disability must be assessed by considering a victim’s ability to compete in the open labor market, rather than retention in a highly accommodated workplace.

The woman was 35 when the accident occurred and worked as a deputy group manager with IBM Daksh in Gurugram. She returned to work after 19 months of unpaid leave, and her annual cost to company later rose from ₹16 lakh to ₹19 lakh. But she could perform her duties only with specially created assistive software, flexible working hours and other extensive support from her employer.

The court also considered the impact on her future career. A career-growth letter from the company said she had lost opportunities to advance to positions including general manager, director and vice-president. The court therefore treated her functional disability as 100%, instead of the 80% assessed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, taking into account a Medical Board’s finding of 100% permanent physical impairment of the whole body.

The judgment stated that “the calculation of functional disability depends on assessing the victim’s earning capacity in the open, competitive market, rather than on retention in a specific, highly accommodated role.”

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The calculation of functional disability depends on assessing the victim’s earning capacity in the open, competitive market, rather than on retention in a specific, highly accommodated role.