A Carpenter Lost His Leg. His Skill Had To Count In The Award.
Where the income of an injured claimant is assessed notionally, the Supreme Court says the fact that he was a skilled worker cannot be overlooked.
The Court held that when the income of an injured claimant is to be notionally assessed, the fact that he was a skilled worker cannot be overlooked and must be accounted for. In assessing compensation for permanent disability, the quantum must correspond to the loss of earning capacity, which is an important yardstick.
- Skill changes the notional figure. A skilled worker is not assessed as an unskilled one.
- Loss of earning capacity is the yardstick for permanent disability, not the disability percentage alone.
- The injury was total for his trade — a carpenter with an above-knee amputation.
- Both courts below had already enhanced it, from Rs 4,77,823 to Rs 11,51,423, before it reached the Supreme Court.
- Court
- Supreme Court of India
- Bench
- Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, Justice N. V. Anjaria
- Citation
- 2026 INSC 656
- Reported
- [2026] 7 S.C.R. 379
- Case
- CIVIL APPEAL/8714/2026
- Decided
- 23 June 2026
- Outcome
- Appeal allowed
What happened
The claimant was thirty-eight, a skilled carpenter, riding his motorcycle when a jeep coming from the wrong side of the road hit him. His injuries led to amputation of the right leg above the knee and he became completely disabled.
The tribunal awarded Rs 4,77,823 with interest at four per cent. The High Court raised it to Rs 11,51,423 with interest at six per cent.
What the Court added
Where the income of an injured claimant has to be assessed notionally, because there is no salary record to work from, the fact that he was a skilled worker cannot be overlooked. It has to be accounted for in the figure.
And in assessing compensation for permanent disability, the quantum must correspond to the loss of earning capacity. For a carpenter who has lost a leg above the knee, that loss is not measured by a percentage on a certificate alone.
Who argued it
Appearances as recorded in the judgment of the Court.
Frequently asked
How is a self-employed worker's income assessed for compensation?
Notionally, where there is no record — but the Supreme Court held that the fact of being a skilled worker cannot be overlooked and must be accounted for.
Is the disability percentage the measure?
No. The quantum must correspond to the loss of earning capacity, which the Court called an important yardstick.
Proving the income of an injured tradesman
- Establish the trade and the skill on evidence — tools, customers, work done, however informal.
- Argue notional income for a skilled worker, not the unskilled minimum.
- Tie the disability to the trade: what this specific injury does to this specific way of earning.
- Frame the claim as loss of earning capacity rather than percentage of disability.
Source. Supreme Court of India, 2026 INSC 656, [2026] 7 S.C.R. 379, CIVIL APPEAL/8714/2026, decided 23 June 2026 by Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, Justice N. V. Anjaria. This explainer is written from the judgment text as reported.
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