In this matter we were retained to act for a 54 year old woman who slipped and fell at Miranda and suffered injuries to her broken wrist.
We invited our client to our office in Miranda. Gerard Malouf & Partners Compensation Lawyers has represented and continues to act on behalf of clients in the area of Punchbowl and we are well aware of how important it is for our clients to have solicitors who are available to be on site when needed and who are familiar with a particular area.
Once we were retained under our “no win, no-fee” personal injury compensation cost agreement, we took care of all costs associated with the preparation of our client’s claim.
Gerard Malouf & Partners Compensation Lawyers strongly believes that the adequate preparation of a case starts with a good first interview. In this particular case we spent over 2 hours interviewing our client to obtain comprehensive description of the accident and clear instructions as to the way the injuries suffered by our client impacted on their life.
As a firm Gerard Malouf & Partners Compensation Lawyers is familiar with cases that involve a similar set of circumstances. As we often do in similar cases, we carried out our own independent forensic investigations with respect to the issues of liability (obtained photos from client) as well as requesting medical records from our client's family doctors.
We then sent a letter of demand to the potential defendant in a genuine attempt to resolve the matter without the need of commencing proceedings in court. Regrettably, as it is often the case, our attempt to resolve the matter at a very early stage was not adequately taken into consideration.
We also conducted investigations to determine the exact identity of the potential defendant. We did this by both requesting the information directly from the Company headquarters,
After obtaining instructions from our client and collating the medical evidence in the case, we commenced proceedings in District Court of New South Wales. We did this by filing a Statement of Claim where we explained the circumstances of the accident as reported to us by our client and supported by the information we obtained independently. We also filed a Statement of Particulars where we described in details the injuries, disabilities and financial damages suffered by our client.
The quality and details of the instructions received played a key role in this matter as we were able to address both the strengths and the weaknesses of the case at an early stage.
The instructions received from our client showed the case to be of a technical nature. However, in accordance with our client's instructions we did not briefed a barrister and saved the costs associated with having a barrister involved in the proceedings. Gerard Malouf & Partners Compensation Lawyers retains a wide range of highly specialized barristers who are selected having in mind their success rate in arguing specific aspects of the law of negligence. It is our barristers’ track record that indicates to us which barrister is right for the job.
Over the entire period required to prepare the claim, we maintained a constant line of communication with our client. Gerard Malouf & Partners Compensation Lawyers prides itself as a law firm that ensures its clients are not left in the dark and are aware of their legal options at all times. We do this by explaining complex legal issues in clear terms so that our clients can fully appreciate and understand their options.
The defendant(s) did not admit its liability and argued (contributory negligence on behalf of our client/that the risk of injury for reasonably foreseeable/ that the accident was caused by its negligent behaviour/lack of proper cleaning system in place).
As we were about to arrange the view of the site of the accident so that an expert could provide us with evidence as to the risks associated with the slippery coefficient level of the floor, the defendant decided to formally concede that the floor of the accident site presented some levels of risks. This did not mean that the liability for the claim was admitted but provided us with an opportunity to address other issues including adequate system of inspection and cleaning and inadequate safety on site.
In order to support our client’s claim with respect to damages, we arranged for our client to undergo a clinical examination with an orthopedic specialist and a psychiatrist and sought their view on what the future held for our client with respect to her injury. The medical evidence obtained both by our expert(s) as well as the treating doctors all assisted in strengthening our client's case with respect to the aspect of damages as it provided us with strong evidence to use in this claim.
The Defendant requested to have our client examined by one of their doctors who provided a medical report. As expected, the opinion contained in the report produced by the Defendant's medical expert conflicted with the findings of our medical expert with respect to future economic loss, future need for treatment as well as past and future ability to attend to home chores and tasks.
Whilst there was a major discrepancy between the position of our client and the position of the defendant with several aspects of the claim, prior to having the matter heard by a Judge of the District Court, we proposed to the defendant’s solicitors to arrange a settlement conference in a final attempt to resolve the claim without the need to incur the cost of a hearing. Gerard Malouf & Partners Compensation Lawyers is a firm that strongly advocates alternative resolution processes such as mediations and informal settlement negotiations. We do this as we strongly believe that these negotiations allow our clients to retain some degree of control over the resolution of their claims.
At conference, we were able to persuade the Defendant's solicitors that our client's position was both genuine and realistic. Our client assisted us by understanding the position of both parties and by accepting to negotiate and compromise on an outcome that was acceptable for all parties involved. In this particular matter Gerard Malouf & Partners Compensation Lawyers succeeded in securing a settlement of over $60,000.
Our client was happy to have received a fair compensation without having to go through the difficulties posed by a hearing before a judge.
