FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS.

NO.

There is a common perception that lawyers will bleed you dry. And we don't disagree, there are some firms that will do just that.

We want to help you better understand your fees.

We also want to help you stay in complete control of your legal spend and save money by doing so by offering you a number of ways we charge.  

For starters, we pay for your disbursements. 

Disbursements are the outlays (monies) that a law firm has spent in pursuing the compensation. They typically include payments for court fillings, medical experts and barrister’s fees. We will:

• Pay for these for you until you have received compensation
• Cover these costs from our own bank account, meaning lower charges for the service

We are happy to lend you our services. In addition to maximising your future money, we also want to save your current money. 

No, Centrelink benefits do not affect your claim. But they do affect your compensation.

Once you’ve received your compensation money, you will be required to pay back statutory bodies from whom you’ve received benefits from – this includes Centrelink. Essentially, a percentage of the amount you have received in the past will be automatically paid back to the government from your compensation.

You may also be exempt from receiving further Centrelink payments for a period of time – after all, your payout amount could replace your need for Centrelink, depending what scheme you are on.

No.

Your legal fees are absorbed by the firm acting for you until the time of your settlement meaning you will not pay a single cent on legal fees before that point. 

If you want to read more about legal fees and how they work, you can check out our article here. 

Just because you have undeclared finances or incomplete tax returns does not mean you are excluded from recovering compensation if you have been injured.

After all, you were injured at no fault of your own, and one missed tax return does not mean you have to pay for that for the rest of your life.

It does mean, however, that you’ll need to tread very carefully when proceeding with your claim to ensure your credibility isn’t brought into question.  

Once you accept an offer from an insurer, you are no longer entitled to further compensation, so it is important you get this right. You need to ensure that any settlement properly compensations you for your:-

1. Pain and suffering;

2. Loss of past income;

3. Potential loss of future income and/or reduction in earning capacity;

4. Past medical expenses, travel expenses and the like;

5. Future medical, travel, and other expenses;

6. The care and assistance you received (domestically and personally) following the accident);

7. Any need you have (or might reasonably have in the future) for care and assistance (again, domestically and/or personally).

Short answer: Contact us.

The steps you should take after an accident depend on many variables such as the circumstances of the accident, the people involved, the injuries sustained and the loss suffered.

Depending on your specific circumstances, you might have take urgent action to comply with certain time limits. Those time limits aren't the same for everyone.

So, contact us for a free consultation and we can give you some pointers on where to start.

To recover compensation, you need to establish that someone else was either wholly or partly at fault. Being partially at fault yourself doesn’t mean that you aren’t entitled to compensation; nor does it mean you won’t receive any compensation. It will simply just reduce your damages to the extent of your contribution.

Probably not.

Most Queenslanders think making a compensation claim is hard.

So hard that almost 200,000 people think about making a compensation claim every year but don’t.

So, what’s causing this compensation claim reluctance?

It seems that people’s reluctance to compensation claims is due to a multitude of factors, including having to go to Court.

The words ‘Court Proceedings” can send shudders down the spines of most Australians.

It’s a hassle most of us can agree we would just rather not have to go through.

Thankfully, the truth is...

Most compensation claims don't make it to court, ever. 

Usually, the at-fault party or their insurer.

In the case of an accident caused by the negligent driving/use of a motor vehicle, the compulsory third party (CTP) insurer of the at-fault vehicle will be responsible for paying your compensation.

In the case of an accident caused by the negligence of another person (such as a local council), that negligent person will be responsible for paying your compensation.

Thankfully, most at-fault persons have some form of insurance (such as CTP insurance or public liability insurance). That means your claim is very likely to be against an insurer (and not an individual person).

If you have a claim in progress, you may be able to switch lawyers if you are unhappy or concerned. 

We can request a transfer of your file from your current law firm and review all of the material your situation. We can build your case from this point. 

Yes, you can.

If you'd like some guidance on how to run a claim on your own, we'd be happy to give you some pointers - just give us a call.

However, claimants with legal representation are likely to receive greater compensation than those without.

If you're on the fence about whether to engage a lawyer, get in touch with us and we can explain your options. We're happy to help, whichever way you go.

A driver/rider will only be personally responsible for property damage caused by them.

There are two instances which you must notify the police:

1. If there has been damage to vehicles or property which exceeds $2,500; or

2. If any person has been injured, regardless of how serious, you should ensure police are called to the scene or notified soon after. 

However, it is good practice to notify the police when you have been involved in an accident. There may be underlying injuries that are not visible until the adrenaline wears off. A police report can be a vital piece of evidence when making a personal injury or property damage claim.

3 years. You have 3 years from the date of the accident to make a claim for compensation. After this, the Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (QLD) will prevent you from making a claim.

Extensions are available in some cases, but are extremely difficult to obtain.

If you are under 18 years at the time of the crash, different timeframes apply. The limitation date is 3 years after your 18^th birthday if you have not already commenced a claim. And the only way to commence a claim before your 18^th birthday is if a parent of guardian commences the claim on your behalf.

There is a common misconception that compensation claims take years and years of work before you ever see a result.

As a result, people are reluctant to claim for compensation because they believe the time and effort will not be worth the compensation they receive at the end of a compensation claim.

They couldn’t be more wrong.

While it is true that some compensation claims can take years to settle, the reality is most compensation claims take just over a year.

That’s because the biggest indicator of how long your compensation claim takes is the severity of your situation.

In Queensland, over 70% of compensation claims are for minor impact. These compensation claims typically don’t take long to settle.

While this might be the average time it takes to see results, each person’s situation is unique…

..and each person’s compensation claim time is therefore also unique.

CTP is a form of personal injury insurance that is compulsory for every registered vehicle in Australia – that means motorbikes, commercial vehicles, cars, and any other registered vehicle.

It provides compensation for people injured or killed in a car accident that is deemed to be not their fault.

That means the CTP insurance you select when you register your car would pay for another party’s personal injuries if you caused an accident. And, vice versa, their CTP insurance would cover you if they were the party that caused the accident.  

Injuries come in many shapes, types, and sizes.

Some are visible to the naked eye whilst others linger under the skin. 

Some will hang around for a day, some for a year, and some will never heal. 

When considering an event for compensation, two key elements are analysed:

• IS YOUR SITUATION DUE TO THE FAULT OF THE DEFENDANT? 
• HAS THE IMPACT OF THE SITUATION CAUSED MAJOR OR POTENTIAL ONGOING FINANCIAL LOSS? 

If you fall under the both of the above criteria, it's highly likely you qualify for a successful compensation claim.

Remember, it may be a headache, or it may be a bruise, but it could be something much more than that.

Symptoms are not always instant and are valid to compensation claim for up to three years after the event.

Always get checked out by your GP no matter what your concern is.

Yes. The legislative regime applying to this type of claim imposes an ongoing obligation of disclosure upon you. This means that you are required to make full and proper disclosure of all material in your possession relevant to your claims. This includes copies of reports, records and other documentary material about your medical condition. We are also under an obligation to inform the insurer of any significant change in your circumstances, including changes in your medical condition and changes in your general state of health.

Once an insurers admits liability for the circumstances of the accident they are under an obligation to meet the cost of any rehabilitation expenses you might incur. Insurers have six months to investigate the circumstances of the accident and to respond as to their position on liability. Whilst, until that time, they are under no obligation to fund your rehabilitative/medical treatment, many insurers commonly agree to fund these expenses even while the issue of liability remains outstanding.

What is a medio-legal assessment?

A medico-legal assessment is an appointment with a medical expert where an assessment is made of the injury you have suffered and the impact it has had on you. After the appointment, the medical expert will provide a medico-legal report containing their findings from the assessment. Medico-legal reports are then used as evidence to confirm the nature and impact of your injury. 

Both us and the insurer will need you to attend medico-legal assessments. Insurers want, and are entitled to seek their own evidence from their own medical experts. You will often need to attend medico-legal assessments with various specialists who are appropriately qualified in each individual area.

How do I prepare for a medico-legal assessment?

To prepare for your medico-legal assessment, you should be ready to provide the specialist with an accurate description of all your injuries and symptoms. The specialist will need to know things such as when you first started experiencing symptoms for each injury, how you would describe those symptoms, how often you experience those symptoms and the sort of activities that bring on those symptoms. You should also be prepared to bring all x-rays or other imaging, and tests relevant to your injuries to the appointment. We will provide you with more information about what to bring dependent on the type of specialist you are to be assessed by.

We will typically obtain statements from your employers and colleagues about the extent to which your injuries have impacted your ability to work. These statements will be used to support your claim for economic loss. We will ask your employees and colleagues about difficulties you experience at work such as: 

• Taking time away from work (either through sick leave, annual leave or period of unemployment);
• Knocking back extra hours or over-time;
• Working less efficiently and less productively; 
• Reducing your regular working hours;
• Missing the opportunity for promotions;
• No longer being suited to some aspects/duties of your work; 
• Needing the assistance of co-workers to help complete jobs you were once capable of doing previously.

Coming soon...