KUALA LUMPUR: A bill to amend the Civil Law Act 1956 has been tabled to allow disabled individuals to sue for damages over loss of dependency following the death of those who had looked after them.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohamed Hanipa Maidin tabled the bill for first reading at Dewan Rakyat today.
Among other things, the bill seeks to amend Section 7 (2). It aims to insert the words “persons with disabilities” into the list of persons who can sue over the deaths of the persons that they had depended on, which were caused by wrongful acts or neglect, among others.
Previously, the section only stated that the wife, husband, parent or child of the person whose death had been caused, could bring the claim in the name of the executor of the deceased person.
The proposed amendments include amending Section 7 (3) (c) (i) (A) to extend the age limit of assessing loss of earnings in such legal claims from 55 to 60.
At present, assessment of the loss of earnings of the deceased person (on whom the claimant was dependent) is limited to the age of 55.
