The Act does not define the word “Disablement”. It only defines the “partial” and “total disablement”.
Disablement
The Act does not define the word “Disablement”.
It only defines the “partial” and “total disablement”. Disablement means loss
of capacity to work or to move. Disablement of a workman may result in loss or reduction of his earning capacity. In the latter case, he is not able to
earn as much as he used to earn before his disablement.
Disablement may be (i) partial, or (ii) total. Further it may be (i)
permanent, or (ii) temporary.
Partial
Disablement [Section 2(1)(G)]:
A disablement may be partial or
total. A partial disablement only reduces the earning capacity of a workman,
while a total disablement incapacitates a workman, from all work, which he was
capable of performing at the time of the accident. Partial disablement may be
of temporary or permanent nature.
(A) Temporary partial disablement means any
disablement, which temporarily
reduces the earning capacity of workman in any employment in which he was
engaged at the time of the accident which caused the disablement.
(B) Permanent partial disablement means such a disablement as
permanently reduces the earning capacity of workman in every employment, which
he was capable of undertaking at the time of the accident which caused the
disablement. But, every injury specified in part of schedule I of this Act shall be deemed to result in permanent partial
disablement.
The distinction between these two types of disablement depends on the
fact as to whether an injury results in reduction of earning capacity in all
the employments which the workman was capable of doing or only in that
particular employment in which workman was engaged at the time of accident.
The type of disablement suffered
can be determined only from the facts of the case. But it is provided by the
Act that injuries specified in Part II of Schedule I (given below) shall be
deemed to result in permanent partial disablement. These injuries are known as ‘\\scheduled
injuries’.
Total Disablement [Section
2 (1)(L)]
Total disablement means such
disablement as incapacitates a workman for all work which he was capable of
performing at the time of the accident resulting in such disablement. In order
to constitute total disablement, disablement must be of such a character that
the person concerned is unable to do any work and not merely the work, which he
was performing at the time of the accident. A total disablement may be
temporary or permanent. A permanent total disablement shall be deemed to result
from 1. The permanent total loss of the sight of both eyes;
or 2. From an injury specified in Part
I of Schedule I or from any combination of injuries specified in Part II
thereof where theaggregate percentage of the loss of earning
capacity as specified in the said Part II against those injuries, amounts to
one hundred per cent or more. A
carpenter suffered injury in the course of his employment, which resulted in amputation of left hand above elbow.
Since a carpenter cannot work with one hand, disablement was held to be total
and not partial [Pratap Narain Singh Deo Vs Srinivas Sabata and
another [AIR (1976) SC 222].
Tags : Business Environment and Law-Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923
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