What if I was partly at fault?

You keep thinking the accident was partly your doing, so maybe you deserve nothing.

Being partly at fault feels like it should cancel everything out, so many people never even ask about a claim. In Malaysia, sharing some of the blame reduces what you can recover; it does not remove your right to claim. The two situations are treated very differently in law.

Why this fear is so common

It is a natural instinct: if you contributed to what happened, it feels wrong to ask for anything. Riders who were not wearing a helmet, drivers who braked a little late, pedestrians who crossed somewhere they should not have, all carry this same doubt.

That instinct does not match how a road accident claim actually works once the other driver was also negligent.

What the law actually does

Under the Civil Law Act 1956, where an accident results partly from your own fault and partly from someone else’s, the damages you can recover are reduced by the share the court thinks just and equitable.^[1] There is no fixed table of percentages; the court looks at the specific facts.

This is different from being solely at fault, where there may be no claim against the other party at all. Partly at fault means a smaller recovery, not none. You can read how liability is assessed more broadly in who is at fault after an accident.

A few things commonly come up when a share of fault is discussed.

Whether you were wearing a seatbelt or a motorcycle helmet at the time.
Your speed, position on the road, and whether you had the right of way.
Whether you reacted reasonably to what the other driver did.
What the police report, witnesses and any footage actually show.

None of these decide the case alone; they are weighed together against what the other driver did wrong.

The honest limits

Nobody can tell you your exact share before the evidence has been looked at properly, and a rough guess offered casually is not the same as a considered view. If your share turns out to be large, your recovery will be smaller, and that is a fair outcome to prepare for rather than fear in silence.

What to do next

Knowing you were partly at fault is a reason to get a clear, honest read of the facts, not a reason to stay quiet about the claim. Contributory negligence explained walks through the mechanics in more detail, and do you need a lawyer is a reasonable place to start.

If you think you were partly to blame and are unsure what that means for you, describe what happened and we will give you a plain view of how the sharing of fault is likely to work.

Ask if you still have a claim

Common questions

If I was partly at fault, do I get nothing?

No. Malaysian law reduces the compensation by the share of blame the court thinks fair, it does not remove the claim entirely. Being partly responsible is different from being solely responsible for the accident.

Is there a fixed percentage for things like not wearing a seatbelt?

No fixed percentage exists in law. Courts look at the specific facts of each accident, including things like helmet or seatbelt use, and decide what share of responsibility is fair on those facts alone.

Who decides how much I was at fault?

Liability is worked out from the evidence: the police report, witness accounts, road conditions and vehicle damage. If it cannot be agreed through negotiation, a court decides based on all of that evidence.

Should I admit partial fault to the insurer early on?

It is usually better to describe what happened factually and let the evidence speak, rather than assign yourself a percentage before anyone has reviewed it properly. An early admission can be hard to walk back later.

Sources

Low & Partners, on Civil Law Act 1956, s.12 (accessed 2026-09-22)