Motor Accident Compensation: High Court Treats 28-Week Foetus as Child, Awards ₹2.2 Lakh

The news

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that a 28-week-old foetus must be treated as a “child” for the purpose of awarding compensation in a road accident, granting approximately ₹2.2 lakh to a couple who lost their unborn baby after the pregnant woman was hit by a scooter. Justice Pramod Goyal passed the order on November 2, 2026, while hearing a plea by the parents challenging the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal’s 2000 decision that had dismissed their compensation claim for the unborn child. The court held that the tribunal had erred in rejecting the claim solely on the ground that compensation for the loss of an unborn child was not maintainable.

The accident occurred on June 8, 1997, when the 28-week-pregnant woman and her husband were returning home from Chandigarh’s Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research on their motorcycle. After stopping due to a road block, the woman got down and was struck by a scooter, dragged eight to 10 feet, and sustained multiple injuries while her unborn child died. The tribunal had found the scooter driver’s driving rash and negligent but dismissed the claim. In calculating compensation, the court used the 1997 minimum wage for an unskilled worker as notional income, added 40 per cent for future prospects, deducted 50 per cent for personal expenses, and applied a multiplier of nine to determine loss of dependency. The court also noted that the Kerala High Court’s full bench has recognised a foetus beyond six months as a viable child for such compensation.

What did the tribunal decide and why was it overturned?

The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal in May 2000 dismissed the parents' claim, holding that compensation for the loss of an unborn child was not maintainable. The High Court found this reasoning erroneous, stating that a 28-week-old foetus must be treated as a child for the purpose of awarding compensation in a road accident. The court referred to the Kerala High Court’s full-bench position that a foetus beyond six months of pregnancy could be treated as a viable child, making parents eligible for compensation in the event of its death in a road accident.

How was the compensation amount calculated?

The court based the notional income of the unborn child on the minimum wage applicable to an unskilled worker in 1997. It added 40 per cent towards future prospects, deducted 50 per cent towards personal expenses, and adopted a multiplier of nine to calculate the loss of dependency. The resulting award was approximately ₹2.2 lakh. The court specified that the multiplier of nine was appropriate for an unborn child for determining loss of earning capacity.