The court establishes that a defendant's negligence in a vehicular accident can lead to full liability for damages, irrespective of claims of contributory negligence.

Introduction

[1] This is the plaintiff's claim for damages as a result of a road accident involving the plaintiff and the defendant. At the time of the accident, the plaintiff was 10 years old and suffered severe injuries resulting therefrom, based on the finding of his medical reports.

[2] The accident in question occurred on 17 September 2010 along Jalan Camar 4/14 in the Sierra Damansara housing estate involving a bicycle ridden by the plaintiff and a motorcar with the registration No WCX 5810 driven by the defendant.

[3] During the trial, nine witnesses testified for the plaintiff, namely Emeir Aiman Dato' Paduka Sulaiman (PW1), Sergeant Azman Md Isa (PW2), Inspector Yunus Ibrahim (PW3), the plaintiff himself, Nicholas Thomas Philip (PW4), Mathew Thomas Philip, who is also the plaintiff's father and litigation friend (PW5), Dr Robert Penafort (PW6), Dr Uma Malaichamy (PW7), Dr Abdul RazMohammed (PW8) and Dr Satriya Sabir Husin Athar (PW9).

[4] Two witnesses testified for the defendant, namely the defendant himself, Lim Jeh Haur (DW1) and Dr Vivekananda Navaratnam (DW2).

[5] After carefully evaluating the testimonies from both parties as well as their respective submissions to the court, I find on balance of probability that the plaintiff has proven his claim and the defendant is 100% liable against the plaintiff. General and special damages were therefore awarded to the plaintiff.

[6] Dissatisfied with the whole decision of the court, the defendant appealed to the High court. The following are my grounds on the issue of liability as well as quantum of damages.

Summary Of Facts

[7] At all material time, the plaintiff and his family resided at NO 2, Jalan Camar 4/14a, Sierra Damansara, Kota Damansara, 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Sierra Damansara is a gated housing estate with a controlled entrance.

[8] The street where the plaintiff's home is located, Jalan Camar 4/14a, is a cul-de-sac with a north-to-south orientation which is perpendicular to the larger Jalan Camar 4/14, which has a west-to-east orientation. These two roads intersect via a T-junction, with the plaintiff's house located near the mouth of the cul-de-sac ie the said junction.

[9] The defendant himself is also a resident of the same housing estate at all material time, his address being NO 27, Jalan Camar 4/18, Sierra Damansara, Kota Damansara, 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

[10] The third party brought in by the defendant is the plaintiff's father and litigation friend. Before the hearing of this case on the issue of liability and quantum of damages between the plaintiff and the defendant, both parties agreed for the court to proceed first with the hearing between the defendant and the third party. As it stands, the defendant's claim against the third party was dismissed on 20 December 2017.

Witness Testimonies

Plaintiff's Version

Testimony Of Eyewitness Emeir Aiman Dato' Paduka Sulaiman (PW1)

[11] Emeir ("PW1") is an eyewitness to the accident and a friend of the plaintiff. He testified that at approximately 5.30 pm on 17 September 2010, he and the plaintiff both left the plaintiff's home on Jalan 4/14a for a bicycle ride within Sierra Damansara.

[12] PW1 testified that he and the plaintiff momentarily stopped at the T-junction where Jalan Camar 4/14a perpendicularly intersected with Jalan Camar 14/4. It was only after stopping that both boys crossed Jalan Camar 4/14 at the said junction to cycle on the left-hand side of the larger road. During the crossing, PW1 noted that he could see the defendant's car at the other end of Jalan Camar 4/14. At that time, the defendant's car was station