Questions about accident and injury claims in Malaysia: road accidents, insurers, medical evidence, compensation and time limits.
Lodge a police report within 24 hours, get medical treatment and keep every report and receipt. Claims for injury or vehicle damage are usually made against the at-fault driver, with their motor insurer handling the claim. If it does not settle, you can sue; the Magistrates' Court hears claims up to RM100,000 and the Sessions Court up to RM1 million. Time limits apply, so get advice early.
Compensation is made up of general damages for the injury itself (pain, suffering and loss of amenity) and special damages for proven financial losses such as medical bills and lost income. Courts also consider future loss of earnings and future treatment. Past awards for similar injuries are used as a guide. Every claim depends on medical evidence and documents.
You may have a claim if the owner or occupier failed to take reasonable care to keep the premises safe and that failure caused your injury. Not every fall gives a claim. Report the incident on the spot, photograph the hazard, ask for CCTV to be preserved, see a doctor and keep receipts. Damages may be reduced if you were careless.
Get medical treatment first, since dog bites carry infection and rabies risks. An owner may be liable if they failed to take reasonable care to control the dog, or knew it was dangerous. Photograph your injuries and the location, identify the owner, keep medical bills and report to the local council. Compensation may cover injuries, treatment costs and lost income.
Possibly. First find out who is responsible for that road: a local council, a state or federal authority, or a highway concessionaire. Lodge a police report, photograph the pothole with a scale reference and the surroundings, and keep medical and repair records. Claims against public authorities and the Government follow special procedural rules, so get advice early.
Stop, help anyone injured, exchange details and report the accident at the nearest Malaysian police station as soon as reasonably practicable and within 24 hours, as section 52 of the Road Transport Act 1987 requires. Notify your insurer. You may later face a traffic summons, a criminal charge or a civil claim in the Johor courts, which you must not ignore.
Re-read your police report, any sketch plan and photographs before trial, because cross-examination will compare your evidence with them. Be careful and honest when estimating speed, distance and time; say when you are unsure. Describe injuries and losses accurately, with records. Separate what you saw from what you were told. Truthful, consistent evidence matters more than certainty.
Yes. If an accident occurs owing to the presence of a motor vehicle on a road, the driver must stop and, if reasonably required, give their name and address and the owner's details and registration number. Each driver must report the accident at the nearest police station as soon as reasonably practicable and in any case within 24 hours, and produce their driving licence and, if required, the insurance certificate (Road Transport Act 1987, s.52). The report is often the first record an insurer or court looks at, so make it accurate.
You usually have two routes. You can claim under your own policy if it covers own damage (subject to its terms, excess and any effect on your no-claim discount), or claim against the at-fault driver, whose insurer may handle third-party property damage claims if their policy covers it. Compulsory insurance under the Road Transport Act 1987 must cover death and bodily injury to third parties (s.91(1)(b)); property damage cover depends on the policy. If an insurer rejects or under-pays, you can complain through the insurer's process and the channels described by Bank Negara Malaysia, or sue the driver in negligence.
Where a certificate of insurance was issued and you obtain judgment for a liability that compulsory insurance must cover (death or bodily injury), the insurer must pay the judgment sum, costs and interest, even if it could avoid or cancel the policy (Road Transport Act 1987, s.96(1)). But it need not pay unless it had notice of the proceedings before or within seven days after they began, nor while execution is stayed pending appeal, and there are exceptions for properly cancelled policies and prior court declarations (s.96(2), (3)). If the insured driver is bankrupt or wound up, the driver's rights against the insurer pass to you (s.97).
Possibly. Report immediately: drivers must stop and report within 24 hours (Road Transport Act 1987, s.52), and police investigation is often the only way to trace a hit-and-run driver. Using a vehicle without third-party insurance is an offence (s.90). If the driver is found, you can sue the driver, and possibly the owner, personally. Motor insurers also operate an arrangement for some victims of uninsured or untraced drivers, with its own conditions and deadlines. Your own policy, personal accident cover and SOCSO may also help.
A passenger is rarely at fault, so the question is who was negligent: the driver of your vehicle, another driver, or both. You can claim against whichever driver caused the accident, and against an owner or operator who is vicariously liable. Compulsory insurance need not cover passengers in ordinary private cars, but must cover passengers in vehicles carrying passengers for hire or reward (Road Transport Act 1987, s.91(1)(bb)), so e-hailing cars, taxis and buses should be covered. Not wearing a seat belt can reduce damages (Civil Law Act 1956, s.12).
Where a death is caused by another's negligence, a dependency claim can be brought for the benefit of the spouse, parents, children and any person with disabilities under the deceased's care (Civil Law Act 1956, s.7(2)). It covers loss of support and reasonable expenses, including funeral expenses, with a fixed bereavement award for the spouse, children and parents (s.7(3), (3A), (3B)). Insurance, EPF, pensions and statutory benefits paid on the death are not deducted (s.7(3)(i)). The estate may also claim its own losses (s.8). Section 7(5) says the action must be brought within three years after the death.
Being partly at fault does not defeat your claim. Under section 12(1) of the Civil Law Act 1956, the court reduces your damages to the extent it thinks just and equitable having regard to your share of responsibility. The court first records the full damages and then applies the percentage (s.12(2)). Not wearing a helmet or seat belt usually affects only the injuries the equipment would have prevented, and the defendant must prove that link. The same reduction applies to a family's dependency claim if the deceased was partly at fault (s.12(4)).
Yes, it can be. Under section 2(a) of the Public Authorities Protection Act 1948, a suit against a person for an act done in the execution of a public duty or authority must be commenced within 36 months of the act, neglect or default. That is shorter than the usual six years for personal injury claims (Limitation Act 1953, s.6(1)(a)), and the Government may rely on it (Government Proceedings Act 1956, s.38). Claims against the Federal Government are brought against the Government of Malaysia (s.21). Do not wait until the end of the period.
The Road Transport Act 1987 has three main driving offences after an accident: careless and inconsiderate driving (s.43), reckless and dangerous driving (s.42), and causing death by reckless or dangerous driving (s.41). Each carries a fine and/or imprisonment, licence endorsement and, for ss.41 and 42, mandatory disqualification. The prosecution must prove the charge beyond reasonable doubt. The civil compensation claim is separate and decided on the balance of probabilities, so the criminal outcome does not end the civil case either way.
Food and goods delivery and the carriage of passengers are listed self-employment activities under the First Schedule of the Self-Employment Social Security Act 2017, and a registered self-employed person who has paid contributions is covered for a "self-employment injury", which includes travelling for the purpose of the activity. Separately, if another road user caused the accident, you can sue that driver and their insurer in negligence. Sums paid under a written law in respect of the injury are not deducted from damages (Civil Law Act 1956, s.28A(1)(c)).
If you are an insured person under the Employees' Social Security Act 1969, your main remedy for an employment injury is the SOCSO scheme (s.15). Section 31 prevents an insured person from recovering compensation or damages from the employer, or from a fellow employee, for an employment injury under any other law, except for motor vehicle accidents where third-party insurance is compulsory. You may still sue a third party who is not your employer, such as a site occupier, another contractor or a manufacturer. OSHA 1994 duties do not themselves create a civil cause of action (s.59).
Under section 24(1) of the Employees' Social Security Act 1969, an accident to an insured person is deemed to arise out of and in the course of employment if it happens while travelling on a route between home and the place of work, on a journey directly connected with the employment, or between work and the place of a meal during an authorised break. Under section 24(2), an accident during an interruption of or deviation from that journey is not covered. If another road user caused the accident, you can also sue that driver.
There are two tracks. Medical questions, such as the degree of disablement, are decided by a medical board, with an appeal to the appellate medical board (ESSA s.33(2)) and limited reviews for fresh evidence or a substantial unforeseen aggravation (s.34). Other disputes, such as whether an accident was an employment injury or your right to a benefit, go to the Social Security Appellate Board (s.84), generally within three years of the cause of action (s.86). From an appellate board, an appeal lies to the High Court only on a substantial question of law, within 60 days (s.91).
OSHA 1994 places duties on employers towards employees (s.15), on employers and self-employed persons towards non-employees (s.17), on occupiers of non-domestic workplaces (s.18) and on principals towards contractors, subcontractors and their workers who work under the principal's direction (s.18A). These duties are enforced by DOSH, but do not by themselves create a civil cause of action (s.59). If you are insured under SOCSO, section 31 ESSA generally bars a damages claim against your own employer, but you may sue a main contractor, developer or occupier who is not your employer in negligence.
If the worker was an insured person, the family can claim SOCSO dependants' benefit (ESSA s.26): a widow or widower for life, and each child until marriage or age 21, with extensions for a child who cannot support themselves or is in higher education up to a first degree. Funeral benefit is also payable. Section 31 generally bars a damages claim against the employer, but the family may bring a dependency claim under section 7 of the Civil Law Act 1956 against a negligent third party, such as a main contractor or occupier. Statutory benefits are not deducted (s.7(3)(i)), and section 7(5) requires the action within three years of the death.
The Employees' Social Security Act 1969 applies to all industries with one or more employees, and all employees must be insured unless excluded by the First Schedule (ss.3, 5). Paragraph (12A) of the First Schedule excludes a foreign worker who does not hold a valid pass or permit to work. So a documented foreign worker is generally within the SOCSO scheme, can claim employment injury benefits, and is subject to the section 31 bar on suing the employer. Claims against negligent third parties remain open. An undocumented worker's position is more complex and needs advice.
The court awards damages for injuries that are proved. You usually need the treating hospital's records and medical report, a report from a doctor in the relevant field on the injury, prognosis and any permanent disability, and evidence of future treatment costs. Medical opinion is relevant as expert evidence under section 45 of the Evidence Act 1950, and under Order 40A of the Rules of Court 2012 an expert's duty is to the court. Keep receipts for every expense and documents proving your earnings, because loss of earnings must be proved.
You do not have to accept the first offer. Before accepting, make sure your injuries have stabilised and you know the medical prognosis, add up all your losses, and read the discharge form carefully, because signing a full and final discharge normally ends the claim for good. Under section 101(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987, a settlement by an insurer of a third-party claim is not valid unless the third party is a party to it. Once a case is filed, formal offers to settle under Order 22B of the Rules of Court 2012 can carry costs consequences.
A pedestrian or cyclist hit by a vehicle can sue the driver in negligence, and the claim is usually met by the driver's compulsory motor insurance, which must cover liability for death or bodily injury to any person caused by the use of the vehicle on a road (Road Transport Act 1987, s.91(1)(b)). The insurer may argue contributory negligence, for example crossing away from a crossing or cycling without lights, which reduces but does not defeat the claim (Civil Law Act 1956, s.12). Damages for non-fatal injury are assessed under s.28A, and insurance or statutory benefits you receive are not deducted.
Yes, often. An employer is vicariously liable for negligence committed by its driver in the course of employment, so you can usually sue both the driver and the company. Under section 90 of the Road Transport Act 1987, it is unlawful to use, or cause or permit another to use, a motor vehicle without compulsory third-party insurance, and under section 96 the insurer must generally satisfy a judgment for bodily injury against a person insured by the policy, provided it had notice of the proceedings within the required time. Whether the driver was on company business, or on a frolic of his own, is often the main dispute.
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