When lawyer K.N. Putte Gowda fought a retired government official’s road accident compensation case, he came away with a startling lesson — a man’s arm is worth only Rs 2 lakh.

Five years ago, Diganth Reddy, a 62-year-old mid-level Karnataka government officer, was knocked off his scooter by a speeding sedan on a busy Bangalore road. He lost his left arm in the accident. “I filed a case in the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT). After a two-year legal battle, the court awarded him Rs 1.97 lakh as compensation,” recalls Gowda, former president, Bangalore Bar Association.

When the disillusioned family appealed in the high court, it added another Rs 50,000 to the pack- age. “Reddy was fighting a deep-pocketed insurance company, which came with a battery of lawyers. It was a one-sided legal battle,” says Gowda.

Like Reddy’s case, fighting a legal battle to claim road accident compensation has always been considered an uphill task in Indian courts. However, this may be changing.

Last month, in a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court of India awarded a compensation of Rs 2 crore to a British national, Vivien Burrow, whose husband was mowed down by a Karnataka state roadways bus in 2002. This is perhaps the highest compensation ever to be paid for a road accident in India.

Similarly, a few months ago, MACT awarded a compensation of Rs 1.17 crore to the family of an Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) employee, who died after being run over by a car four years ago in Delhi. The victim, Mukesh Khurana, was the chief project manager with the IOC.

Deepak Balani, a senior advocate with DB Law Associates, Mumbai, agrees that the Supreme Court is beginning to take a more sympathetic view of the claims made by victims of road accidents. He cites the example of a verdict it passed earlier this year, in the Josephine James versus the United India Insurance Company case.

James, 21, who was the sole earning member of her family, lost her life in a road accident in Delhi. “MACT awarded her mother a compensation of Rs 13 lakh. This was contested by the insurance company in the high court, on the grounds that it was unjustifiably high for such a young person,” explains Balani. The Delhi High Court reduced the amount to Rs 4 lakh.

But the apex court took a stern view of the Delhi High Court’s decision. “It said the high court committed an error while allowing the insurance company to challenge the amount of compensation,” says Balani.

All road accident cases in India are tried at the MACT, constituted under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. Compensation to victims is payable as per Schedule II of the act and is fixed on the basis of a formula that takes into account the age of the victim, his income status and position. “The main parameter is loss of future earnings of the victim,” says Balani.

In case the accident leaves the victim with a disability, compensation is calculated on the basis of either permanent total disablement or permanent partial disablement, as detailed in Schedule I of the Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923.

The procedure may be clear-cut on paper, but fighting a legal battle to claim road accident compensation has never been a walk in the park in India. Sunil Dutt Yadav, a Bangalore-based lawyer, blames an unholy nexus between police officials and lawyers for this.

“In every city you’ll find agents and lawyers, referred to as Ambulance Chasers, in legal circles. They pay police officials to hand over accident cases to them, which they milk for money,” he explains.

The problems don’t end there. Once a case gets into court, litigants face difficulty in ensuring that the doctors who examine victims are available to give their testimony. “A claim for disability compensation can only come through if the concerned doctor is available in court to record his statement. Co-ordinating this is a big challenge,” says Yadav.

Further, victims suffer if evidence of the accident is not properly collected and recorded by the police, says Balani. “Also, witnesses are usually reluctant to come forward and give evidence,” he adds. Lack of awareness also sets back compensation cases. “Victims are not aware of the lengthy legal procedures,” he rues.

Bangalore High Court lawyer Siji Malayil says he handles 30 per cent more road accident compensation cases now than he did five years ago. And more often than not, victims are up against cash-rich insurance companies. “It’s a tough legal battle because insurance firms hire big lawyers and vehicle owners lack proper representation,” explains Malayil.

But despite the roadblocks, Balani believes a growing number of compensation cases are ending on a happier note. “There is now a determination in common people to fight for their rights and get justice. General awareness is also rising because of access to information on the Internet,” he says, adding that he’s seen a huge change in the victims’ families who approach him to take up accident claim cases. “They are more knowledgeable about legal protocols and collect evidence and documents systematically,” he explains. Social activists and NGOs are also actively spreading legal awareness now.

Traffic rules today are also implemented more effectively. “Look at the measures against drunk driving. The police are more serious about enforcing traffic laws,” says Balani.

A game changer has been the growing popularity of lok adalats and mediation centres as the go-to places to sort out compensation cases. “These forums provide a platform for the two parties to sit across the table, talk and arrive at a mutually agreeable compensation package. In the last five years, more than seven lakh road accident cases have been settled by lok adalats,” says Balani.

Clearly, the courts are now doing their bit to provide redress to road accident victims and their families.