Consent judgment

A consent judgment is a settlement that both sides have agreed to, which the court then records as its own formal judgment.

Once filed, it carries the same weight as a judgment reached after a full trial, and it can be enforced the same way if a party fails to pay. Most road accident claims in Malaysia settle by negotiation rather than going all the way to trial, and a consent judgment is how that agreement is made final and binding.

Because a consent judgment is usually difficult to reopen once signed, it is worth being sure the figure and its terms reflect your full medical picture before you agree.

How a settlement becomes a consent judgment explains the steps involved.