Andhra Pradesh High Court upholds amputee workman's compensation for 100% loss of earning capacity despite 40% disability

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The Andhra Pradesh High Court recently upheld an order of the Workmen’s Compensation Commissioner holding that the loss of a workman's limb amounted to 100 per cent loss of his earning capacity, despite a medical board assessing his disability at 40 per cent.

Reliance was placed on a judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Raj Kumar v Ajay Kumar where it was held that the percentage of the permanent disability cannot be mechanically applied as the percentage of economic loss or loss of earning capacity. Instead, the apex court held that the assessment of compensation for loss of future earnings would depend on the effect and impact of the disability on one’s earning capacity.