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Our hourly fees and the number of cases each lawyer works on at any given time is well below the industry average to ensure we can fight for fair compensation.

What is considered to be a personal injury?

Personal injury in the context of being able to make a claim is an injury to an individual caused by the negligence of another person or organisation. This could include a road accident (including car, motorcycle, bicycle and truck accidents), a work accident, negligence of a doctor, public place slip and fall. In some cases, it also includes purely psychological injuries that were caused or worsened due to the negligence of an employer.

Common physical injuries include:

How long does a personal injury claim take?

Typically, most Queensland personal injury claims we run take 12-18 months from the start to a successful settlement. However, many factors impact accident compensation claims, such as the seriousness of your injuries, your stage of recovery and the complexity of proving liability.

Are there time limits for injury claims?

Yes, strict time limits apply; for most types of compensation, the time limit is three years from the date of incident. However, in some situations, the limits can be much shorter. In addition, gathering evidence to build a case becomes harder with time. Therefore it is best to seek legal advice as soon as possible to protect your rights and avoid missing critical time limits.

Children under 18 typically get longer time limits to claim as long-term impacts on a child’s ability to earn an income or recover can be hard to tell until they reach adulthood. That said, the advice to get legal advice as soon as possible still applies.

What can you claim for as part of motor vehicle injury compensation?

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Frequently Answered Questions

Personal injury claims process

If you are unfamiliar with the legal system, the procedure for pursuing a personal injury claim can be lengthy and difficult. If you have been hurt as a result of someone else's carelessness or negligence it's crucial to get expert legal help.

Our team of Brisbane and Queensland based personal injury compensation lawyers will guide you through the claims process. The exact process may vary depending on the type of claim but the basic steps are shown below.

1: Initial consultation and checking your claim options

Initially as part of our no-obligation consultation process we will check what legal options are open to you and advise on the pathways open to you. This will involve checking the circumstances of an accident or injury to ensure there was negligence of another party, who the liable party was and that there would be an insurer to make a claim against. 

With car and vehicle accidents for example then this is covered by the compulsory third party insurance (CTP) policy which comes as part of vehicle registration for the owner of the at-fault vehicle, and for work injuries it is typically the compulsory workers compensation insurer such as WorkCover Queensland. We also make sure the claim is one in the jurisdiction we handle which is Queensland for most claim types or national within Australia for others.

2: Gathering evidence and lodging initial claims

Once we’ve established we can run a claim then our expert legal team will start to gather evidence to build your case such as accident report forms or Police reports for road accidents, evidence from the scene of the accident, witness details, medical records and bills, proof of loss of earnings (and proof of past earnings). 

Along the way then we may also need to get specialist medical assessments and reports done to assess the change in your life path the injuries have had and the likely impact on future earnings and costs.

We also make sure initial claims or notice to claims are lodged. With motor vehicle accidents a ‘Notice of Accident Claim Form’ needs to be lodged with MAIC (Motor Accident Insurance Commission) which we will do and with work injuries we will ensure you have taken the right steps with your WorkCover claim.

3: Start to negotiate settlement with liable parties insurers

Once we’ve built a clear picture of the impact the claim will have on your life we will start negotiations with the insurer/s of the liable parties.

The majority of claims are settled out of court at informal conferences known as ‘Compulsory conferences’ which involve your personal injury lawyers and appointed barrister and legal representatives for the liable parties insurance company.

Many claims will settle at the first of these, some will need a second meeting if the initial offers were not satisfactory. 

In a small number of cases then the case may need to move to court litigation. Even once this process commences there can be opportunities to reach settlement out of court.

4: Case settlement

Once a settlement is agreed then this will lead to a lump sum tax free settlement. For some claim types we can also work to have some of the legal fees covered by the liable party to ensure maximum compensation is received by yourself.

In rare cases where a settlement cannot be reached, our no win, no fee guarantee protects you and means you will not need to pay our legal fees.

What does no win, no fee mean?

‘No win, no fee’ is a common offering among compensation law firms to allow access to justice without upfront costs. Rather than paying upfront, you only pay legal fees to your compensation lawyer if your claim is successful.

  • No upfront costs for legal fees
  • Other outgoings such as medical reports required for your claim are covered upfront
  • No legal fees to us unless your claim is successful

Is it worth getting a personal injury lawyer?

Sometimes we find potential clients are unsure if a claim will be worthwhile due to concerns over cost or hassle. 

  • We guide you through each step - We gather the information needed and keep you updated. Apart from providing information and attending some medical assessments then there is not much you need to do.
  • Less than 1% of matters go to court - going to court is a common concern but only a tiny fraction go this far. The vast majority are settled with the insurers in out-of-court settlement meetings.
  • Tax-free lump sum settlement - You only have a limited time to claim and failing to do so now might set you back in the future if the effects of the injury play up and limit your earnings. We negotiate a tax free settlement to help offset the future financial impacts.
  • DIY Costs You More - Trying to run your own claim is unlikely to provide a good result. Insurers know that those acting alone don’t have the power to take them to court if needed so will typically offer very low settlements (if anything) compared to what a specialised personal injury lawyer could negotiate. Therefore, even accounting for legal fees, using an expert tends to provide a much better result.

In which regions do you operate?

Our services are based on where the incident happened. We specialise in Queensland personal injury law so we assist clients across all Queensland cities and regions including;

  • Brisbane
  • Gold Coast
  • Sunshine Coast
  • Toowoomba
  • Townsville
  • Mackay
  • Bundaberg
  • Cairns

In addition, we also assist inter-state and international clients for incidents that occurred in Queensland.

Our Brisbane based personal injury experts work from our 393 Gympie Rd, Kedron office but can come and visit yourself when needed. We travel locally to areas such as North Lakes, Redcliffe, Ipswich, Logan, Caboolture etc and can fly or drive to meet with those living further away. We also have Sunshine Coast personal injury lawyers available to meet anywhere on the Sunshine Coast including Caloundra, Maroochydore, Nambour and Noosa.

Who pays the compensation?

Technically, the claim for compensation will proceed against the person at fault and they will be named as the Defendant in any legal proceedings.

However, insurers involved stand in the place of the party who committed the wrong-doing and failed in their duty of care.  They step in and take over the conduct of the claim.  All the procedural aspects of the claim are dealt with through the insurer including payment of the claim.

A few examples of who pays are:

  • CTP insurance for road accidents - covered by the CTP (compulsory third party) insurance of the at-fault driver. This is the insurance all drivers much have as part of their registration. There are protections in place for occasions where the at-fault party was unknown or was driving in an non-registered vehicle.
  • WorkCover or compulsory workers compensation insurance for workplace accidents - all employers have to protect their workers with workers compensation insurance. Most workers in Queensland are covered by WorkCover Queensland but some major employers opt to use their own provider.
  • Public liability claims for public place accidents - venues such as shops, shopping centres, cafes and bars are required to have public liability insurance to cover incidents such as slip and falls or other injuries.

How are personal injury claims calculated?

Personal injury compensation claims are assessed based on a number of criteria that are intended to help compensate for the losses suffered by the injured party. Medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering are some of these factors, with economic losses being the most significant one.

Factors that will play an impact include:

  • Past and predicted future loss of earnings and Superannuation: This can include items like lost wages, loss of potential future income, and any additional monetary losses the injured party has encountered.
  • Medical expenses and bills: This can include items like medical bills from the hospital, specialist appointments, surgery, the price of prescription drugs, and any other costs associated with the wounded person's medical treatment.
  • Rehabiliation costs: Such as physiotherapy, exercise physiologists and psychology appointments.
  • Ongoing care costs for serious injuries: This could include at home care, specialist equipment hire or purchase and home modification.
  • Pain and suffering: This can include things like the injured party's physical suffering, mental suffering, and any other non-financial losses they may have endured. Despite the significant impact that pain and suffering can have, restrictions apply and it normally only makes up a small portion of the overall compensation.

How much is a certain personal injury worth?

A common question we get asked as Brisbane personal injury lawyers is how much is a claim worth for a particular injury. For example, ‘how much do I get for losing a finger?’ or ‘how much compensation for a back injury?’

The reality is that the same injury may result in vastly different settlements for different people based on their circumstances, mainly relating to the differing levels of economic loss the injury has on someone.

Key factors that influence this include:

  • Age: Long term injuries will likely be worth more to someone relatively young compared to someone a few years from retirement as the economic loss will be many times higher.
  • Occupation: The same injury may have little impact on the ability to work for some occupations but place major restrictions on others.
  • Recovery: If recovery goes especially well then this may reduce the economic loss. Compensation will never fully compensate for serious injuries so a good recovery is always the ideal option.

Is a personal injury claim taxable?

Most types of personal injury settlements that we negotiate such as road, work and public place injury compensation are tax-free lump sum settlements.

Note: With WorkCover (for work injuries) then the income you receive from WorkCover directly prior to a legal claim is normally taxed as income.

What percentage do personal injury lawyers take?

We don’t charge a fixed percentage. We charge good value rates (lower than most major competitors) for the work actually done on your matter and even this is only payable if your claim is successful.

By law in Queensland the fees charged by any ‘no win, no fee’ law firm cannot exceed 50% of the total settlement. We do everything we can to minimise fees and get what’s possible covered by the insurer. As a result, our typical fees are far less than 50%.

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