If you’ve been injured in a public place, and another party is responsible, you can make a personal injury claim. If a company or other organisation was responsible for the issue, whether it was caused by an associated person or happened on that organisation’s property the claim goes against public liability coverage instead of the business itself.
The process of making a claim for personal injury in Queensland is distinct from taking action against your own employer, responding after an auto accident or dealing with pain and suffering caused as part of a crime. These personal injury claims are sometimes known as “slip and fall” claims because that is the type of accident they deal with – an injury occurred, but it was a mistake rather than a crime, and it did not involve a car or take place at your workplace.
Making your claim in time
The Queensland Government indicates that when you have suffered harm and want to make a claim to recoup expenses, you must notify the other party within nine months of the injury or one month of instructing your lawyer, whichever occurs first. Legal Aid Queensland notes that the government doesn’t generally provide legal advice about personal injury cases – you should speak with a solicitor, with the knowledge that this will give you one month at the most to file your claim. In addition to this nine-month or one-month period to notify the other party, you have three years to begin court proceedings.
Filing your claim correctly
As laid out in the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002, you file a notice to the company or individual responsible for the injury, or the personal liability insurance provider. Part 1 is the document which must be filed within the aforementioned time limit, with Part 2 following within two months of the recipient responding to Part 1 – or failing to respond to it. The standard length of time for recipients to respond to Part 1 is a month.
Receiving damages
Within a prescribed period, six months being the standard, the recipient of a claim must attempt to resolve your claim. This could involve written offers and counteroffers. It should be known that the damages associated with personal injury and public liability do not include punitive costs, and they are solely to do with medical fees and loss of income due to the results of the injury. This process may end up in court proceedings if the offers and counter-offers do not lead to a satisfactory resolution.
To have the best chance in your personal injury public liability claim in Queensland – and take advantage of our performance-based, no-win-no-fee model, contact Gerard Malouf & Partners’ public liability lawyers at 1800 004 878 or email your enquiry.
