PETALING JAYA: A RM33,000 personal injury claim by a motorcyclist against his father was set aside after the High Court in Sungai Petani found the suit to be questionable.
Judicial Commissioner Dharmafikri Abu Adam said the sessions court had erred in allowing damages arising from the negligence suit filed by Adam Akashah Zulhardi.
“(Adam) had failed to prove his claim on a balance of probabilities,” Dharmafikri said in allowing an appeal by Berjaya Sompo Insurance Bhd.
He said Adam’s version of the accident was fraught with inconsistencies while the evidence suggested he had fallen while attempting to avoid a cat.
Adam, who was 17 at the time, claimed that a motorcycle ridden by his father, Zulhardi Awang, grazed him when his father attempted to swerve and avoid a cat at Jalan Batu 5 Jeniang-Gurun around 12.30am on Aug 2, 2020.
Adam, who was also on a motorcycle, was injured.
Berjaya Sompo, the insurer of the motorcycle ridden by Zulhardi, intervened in the proceedings after finding irregularities in the claim.
During the trial, Adam called several witnesses, including a police investigating officer and a medical officer from Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital.
Neither Zulhardi nor Berjaya Sompo called any witness, maintaining that Adam had failed to discharge the burden of proof and that there was no case to answer.
However, the trial judge held that Adam had succeeded in proving his claim and awarded RM33,000 in damages.
Berjaya Sompo and Zulhardi appealed to the High Court.
Counsel S Imavathi and S Vaishnavi represented the insurance company, while Satwinder Kaur acted for Zulhardi and Hafizah Jaafar appeared for Adam.
