Tamil Nadu   

“Disability, loss of earning capacity not the same”

MADURAI: A Workmen’s Compensation Commissioner cannot unilaterally determine that a labourer had lost his earning capacity in an accident while on duty on the basis of a disability certificate issued by a medical practitioner, the Madras High Court has ruled.

Allowing a civil miscellaneous appeal filed by United India Insurance Company in the Madurai Bench, Justice M. Venugopal said: “It is to be borne in mind that permanent or partial disablement and loss of earning capacity are not one and the same in the considered opinion of this court.”

It was necessary for the Commissioners to get the loss of earning capacity of the workman properly assessed by a qualified medical practitioner before determining the compensation payable under the Workmen’s Compensation Act. This assessment should in addition to the disability certificate.

In the present case, the Commissioner did not assess the loss of earning capacity. He had fixed the disability of an injured workman at 40 per cent, though a doctor fixed it at 60 per cent.

Mr. Justice Venugopal said the Commissioner’s order suffered from an error, as he had not responded to the objections raised by the insurance company.

“The Commissioner has erred in assuming jurisdiction over the appellant company.”

The company contended that the Commissioner had ordered it to pay Rs.98,214 in compensation to a carpenter who had lost his fingers while working in a wood-cutting machine.

The award was passed on the basis of a group insurance policy for 30 persons taken by the carpenter’s employer in the name of another company he owned.

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