Legal and medical experts on Thursday called for a reset in the way neurological disabilities arising from road accidents are assessed and compensated, urging courts to move beyond anatomy-based medical opinions to functional, task-based disability frameworks.
The call was made at a press conference following a panel discussion on “Neuro Justice Framework: Motor Accident Cases - Head Injury Disability and Medical and Legal Pain Points”, organised by the Advocates’ Association, Bengaluru, with Rebooting the Brain (PRS Neurosciences).
Former Karnataka High Court judge A.V. Chandrashekar; advocate and president of the Advocates’ Association, Bengaluru, Vivek Reddy; senior advocate Chethana Bhat; stereotactic and functional neurosurgeon and CMD of PRS Neurosciences Sharan Srinivasan; CEO and chief medical and rehabilitation director of PRS Neurosciences Prathiba Sharan; and insurance law expert Manjunath were among the panellists.
The speakers pointed out that while India recorded about 1.77 lakh road accident deaths in 2024, official statistics do not capture the far larger number of survivors left with lifelong neurological disabilities following head, spinal cord and nerve injuries. Many of these impairments are invisible, have delayed onset and are difficult to quantify through conventional medical reports, they said.
Motor accident claim cases involving neurological injuries contribute significantly to pendency before tribunals and courts, the panel noted. Judges are often required to assess lifelong functional disability and loss of earning capacity on the basis of anatomy-centric medical opinions, which do not adequately reflect real-world functioning, employability or independent living.
Medical experts from PRS Neurosciences emphasised that no single test or scan can capture real-life brain function, making task-based, contextual and longitudinal assessments essential for fairness and accuracy.
Pointing out that neurological injuries more often do not leave any visible scars, Dr. Srinivasan said, “Survivors may appear physically normal, yet struggle with cognition, emotional regulation, decision-making and the ability to return to work.”
Because such disabilities are not easily demonstrable, claimants often face scepticism, prolonged hearings and repeated litigation. This results in inconsistent compensation, added emotional and financial strain on families, and further delays in the justice delivery system, the panelists said.
Former judge Mr. Chandrashekar observed that courts lack scalable tools to translate complex neurological impairments into legally usable conclusions, despite repeated judicial acknowledgement of the problem.
The absence of standardised functional assessment methods leads to disputes, appeals and delays, affecting victims and insurers alike. The panel underlined the need for structured, court-reliable functional assessment systems aligned with neuroscience principles, and discussed the responsible use of artificial intelligence as a judicial decision-support tool to improve consistency and reduce pendency, without replacing judicial discretion.
The discussion also marked the launch of a proposed National Neuro Justice Movement, aimed at fostering sustained collaboration between legal institutions, medical experts and policymakers to shift India’s approach from anatomy-based evaluation to functional justice grounded in lived reality.
