FAO No. 914 of 1988 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH FAO No. 914 of 1988 Decided on :04-12-2008 Jagmohan Singh ....Appellant VERSUS Gurmeet Singh and others ....Respondents CORAM:- HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MAHESH GROVER Present:- Mr. Ashish Bansal, Advocate for the appellant Mr. N.S.Virk, Addl. Advocate General, Punjab. MAHESH GROVER, J This appeal is directed against the award of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Ludhiana dated 17.5.1988. In an accident which took place on 19.12.85, the appellant suffered injuries as a result of which spleen of the respondent had to be removed. The testimony of Dr. Inder Mohan Singh Puri, PW5 is to the following effect:- “During this period as soon as he came we rushed him to operation theatre as he was bleeding profusely from the ruptured spleen and he under went emergency splenectomy in the operation theatre. Post operatively he recovered well from this trauma. His spleen was removed during the operation and there is only one spleen in the body. The functions of the spleen mostly are related to the body defences. The body's defence system is shattered after the FAO No. 914 of 1988 2 removal of spleen. He is prone for getting massive and rampant infection and can die in a day and that infection may not even be noticed by the doctor. Through his life he will have to take penciline injection every month. He will have to get injection of “Anti Pheomoccocal Vaccine” which is not manufactured in India and is imported from abroad. This injection has not been given to him so far and is yet to be given. He is supposed to reside near a place where medical facilities are immediately available. He can do manual labour. The injection referred above which is imported from abroad it is must for him if he does not want to die as it will save him from certain infections.” The Tribunal awarded a total sum of Rs. 50,000/- under the following heads:- 1. medical expenses Rs.3,000/- 2. loss of income Rs.2,000/- 3. Pain and suffering Rs.45,000/- Learned counsel for the appellant has contended that the amount awarded is inadequate considering the nature of injuries suffered by him and the consequent impact thereof. After hearing learned counsel for the appellant and perusing the award, I am of the considered opinion that the award of the Tribunal deserves to be modified. It has come in the testimony of Dr. Inder Mohan Singh Puri, PW5 that the spleen of the appellant which is responsible for the immune system of the body had to be removed and as a consequence thereof the appellant FAO No. 914 of 1988 3 shall be exposed to life threatening infections and for that he would have to get vaccinated and which vaccination has to be imported from abroad. In view of gravity of the injury suffered by the appellant, award of Rs. 50,000/- is grossly inadequate. This Court is of the opinion that in the given set of circumstances when an incumbent is threatened with serious infections all throughout his life, some compensation ought to have been awarded to the appellant to take care of the future contingencies. Considering the matter as aforesaid, the appellant is awarded a sum of Rs. 1 lac for pain and suffering and another sum of Rs. 1 lac for the future treatment. Rest of the amounts awarded on account of medical expenses and loss of income do not warrant any interference. Thus, the appellant is entitled to total compensation of Rs. 2,05,000/- The enhanced amount of compensation shall be paid alongwith interest at the rate of 9 % per annum from the date of filing of petition till the date of its realisation. The liability to pay the amount shall be the same as has been determined by the Tribunal. The appeal stands allowed in the aforesaid terms and the award of the Tribunal is modified accordingly. December 4 , 2008 (Mahesh Grover) rekha Judge