Dama Seshadri Naidu, J.

Background:

1. Appellant Rajendran was the claimant in O.A.No.34 of 2002 before the Railway Claims Tribunal, Ernakulam. He claimed compensation because he was grievously injured in a railway accident. The accident has, in fact, led not only to his physical impairment but also to his loosing employment. Though the Tribunal awarded compensation through a judgment dated 1.4.2005, Rajendran felt it inadequate. So he has filed this appeal before us. The Dispute:

2. The facts in brief are that Rajendran, a driver in a Cooperative bank was all set to join his new employer, the Central Excise Department, on 24.06.2001—with better salary and better career prospects. But before that, as fate would have it, he undertook a journey: On 22.6.2001, he boarded Mangalore-Chennai Mail at Vadakara to go to Chennai. On route, the train met with an accident. Rajendran, among many other passengers, suffered severe injuries: a fracture to the shaft of humerus, fracture to frontal bone on the left, and sprain in the right ankle. After many days’ hospitalization, Rajendran remained an invalid with career threatening disability.

3. On the blow his career received, Rajendran ave