A Mumbai Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) has awarded ₹1,79,45,493 to an engineering student who lost her right upper limb in a 2019 bus accident, and about ₹1.17 crore of that sum is for prosthesis and future medical costs. For India’s prosthetists and orthotists, the order is another sign that courts are pricing lifetime prosthetic care as a recurring cost, not a one-time purchase.
What the tribunal decided
According to the Free Press Journal, the order dated 17 October concerns an accident at about 1:45 am on 18 June 2019 on the Western Express Highway, when the then 20-year-old student was travelling on a bus from Satara to Surat. She lost her right upper limb. The tribunal fixed her functional disability at 60 per cent, even though medical certificates had recorded 65 per cent.
She had sought ₹10 lakh with 12 per cent interest. The tribunal instead awarded ₹1,79,45,493 with 9 per cent interest. The bus owner, Omprakash Sadwani, and National Insurance Company Ltd were held jointly and severally liable.
How the award breaks down
- ₹1.17 crore for prosthesis and future medical costs, based on nine replacement limbs at an average of ₹13 lakh each, plus maintenance. Her own quotation was ₹15,15,990.
- ₹45.36 lakh for loss of future earnings, calculated on ₹25,000 a month, a multiplier of 18 and 40 per cent future prospects.
- ₹5 lakh for pain and suffering, ₹2 lakh for loss of amenities, ₹5 lakh for loss of marriage prospects and ₹2 lakh for disfigurement.
- ₹2,29,493 for past medical bills, and ₹40,000 each for diet and conveyance.
The tribunal also observed that the claimant’s personal qualities “in no way can be said to compensate for the loss of right upper limb”, which is why her disability was not treated as a smaller loss of earning capacity.
Why the prosthesis figure matters
The most important number for the profession is not the headline total. It is the assumption of nine replacement limbs over a lifetime. A young claimant will outlive several devices, and the tribunal costed each replacement and the upkeep in between. That reasoning follows the direction set by the Supreme Court, which has recognised accident victims’ entitlement to a high-quality prosthetic limb, as ThePrint reported. Our earlier coverage of how the Supreme Court redefined prosthetic compensation explains the wider market impact.
Bharat CPO Perspective
Claims tribunals are becoming a quiet but significant source of prosthetic demand and documentation. This case, like the ₹1.25 crore Mumbai award after an above-knee amputation and the Kerala High Court ruling on lifetime prosthetic costs, shows that the quality of a clinician’s evidence shapes the outcome. Here the claimant’s quotation was ₹15,15,990, yet the tribunal worked from its own average of ₹13 lakh per limb.
Practical steps for Indian CPOs include: giving itemised quotations that state the device type, expected lifespan and replacement interval; documenting socket changes, repairs and component upgrades; and being clear about what an upper-limb user needs at each stage of life. Clinics should also be ready for lawyers and insurers to ask for this paperwork. Readers following the cost debate may also want our piece on bionic hand affordability in India.
FAQ
How much did the tribunal award? ₹1,79,45,493 with 9 per cent interest, of which about ₹1.17 crore covers prosthesis and future medical costs.
Why were nine prostheses costed? The tribunal assumed the claimant would need repeated replacements over her lifetime, at an average of ₹13 lakh each plus maintenance.
Who must pay? The bus owner and National Insurance Company Ltd, jointly and severally.
Is this a binding precedent? It is a tribunal order and can be appealed, but it reflects a growing pattern of lifetime prosthetic costing.
Suggested hyperlinks / sources
- Free Press Journal: Mumbai MACT awards ₹1.79 crore to engineering student
- ThePrint: Accident victims entitled to high-quality prosthetic limb, SC
- Bharat CPO: Supreme Court and prosthetic compensation