Gauhati High Court: Children losing parent in accident entitled to parental consortium

The Gauhati High Court has enhanced motor accident compensation to over Rs 8 lakh for the kin of a 44-year-old man who died in a road crash, ruling that the deceased's two sons are entitled to 'parental consortium', a head of damages not granted by the lower tribunal. Justice Kaushik Goswami held that the tribunal had wrongly omitted future prospects and consortium payments as laid down in the Supreme Court's Pranay Sethi judgment.

The original award of Rs 5.89 lakh included only Rs 50,000 towards loss of consortium for the widow, with nothing for the two sons. The high court recalculated the annual income at Rs 75,000, applied a multiplier of 14 after deducting one-third for personal expenses, and added Rs 48,400 each for spousal and parental consortium. The total enhanced compensation came to Rs 8,81,500.

The insurance company has been directed to deposit the balance amount within six weeks. The appeal was filed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 against the 2016 award of the Additional District Judge, Kamrup (M), Guwahati.