Compensation for purchase of Prosthetic Limb & Maintenance
Judgment dated 21.4.2026 of the Supreme Court of India in Civil Appeal No.4642 of 2026 of Prahlad Sahai Vs. Haryana Roadways and another
Accident Compensation for purchase of Prosthetic Limb & Maintenance
Lord Brooke in David Pinnington vs. Crossleigh1 observed: “49. …Those of us who have not had the misfortune of losing an arm may have more difficulty in appreciating the view of the joint experts when they said how personal this kind of appliance is to a disabled …”
In the accident of 2.6.2007, the entire right leg of the appellant was crushed.
In that context, the question before the Supreme Court was whether the compensation is payable for prosthetic limb to restitute the victim the original position as far as possible.
A prosthesis is a poor substitute for lost fingers but it is the only substitute that is available. The principle of restitutio in integrum applies. If it is necessary for the pursuer to succeed in recovering the whole life cost of replacement that I find that she probably will replace the prosthesis each year by private purchase
The appellant was thirty-two years in 2007. Applying an assumed life span of seventy years as the maximum for which as a standard formula compensation for prosthetic limb is awarded and calculating the life of one prosthetic limb as five years, the appellant will need seven prosthetic limbs.
We are inclined to award, like in Md. Shabir (supra), a consolidated amount towards the price. We are inclined to grant Rs. 3,00,000/- per limb on a standard basis for seven limbs. In view of the fact that a consolidated amount is being paid, no interest from the date of the accident is awarded. Considering that the price has been arrived at by broadly applying the case Md. Shabir (supra), which we find Page 20 of 25 reasonable, we are not inclined to proceed on the basis of the notification relied upon by the Insurance Company. 33. We are also inclined to award cost of maintenance of prosthetic limb at Rs.15,000/- annually. For a block of five years, it would work out to approximately Rs. 75,000/-. We award a consolidated sum of Rs. 5,00,000/- till the assumed life span of seventy years.
