1. WorkCover Claim
The first type of claim is made to WorkCover Queensland. There is a specific
claims process, which our law firm can help you to negotiate. WorkCover claims usually only require evidence that the injury occurred at work, or while travelling to or from work. There is no need to prove that someone is at fault and you can start receiving compensation payments while your claim is being processed. If your claim is successful, you
can receive injury compensation for
-lost income
-hospital and medical expenses
-permanent impairment, as a lump sum
2. Court Claim
The second type of claim is made through the courts. and often called a 'civil' or 'common law' claim - see below for more detail. Whether to make a court claim is a difficult decision and compensation claims are best assessed by experienced lawyers, who can talk through your options and give you advice to help you make the best decision.
Other accidents
For motor vehicle or other accidents, you will generally need to make a compensation claim in the court.
In personal injury cases, the claim is made against the person or organisation that caused the injury. Some examples of who you might claim against, say for broken leg injuries, are:
- An employer as discussed above, if you suffered injuries at work
- The owner of a business where you slip and fall
- The driver of a motor vehicle involved in a car accident in which you are hurt.
If the driver who causes a car accident is unidentified or uninsured, an injured person can claim against the '
nominal defendant', and compensation payouts are made from a fund created for that purpose.
Civil or common law claim through the courts
In the court, leg injury compensation claims are usually based on negligence, though not always, and your lawyer can tell you what's best for your situation.
You can claim compensation based on someone else's negligence if:
- The person had a duty to take reasonable care to ensure you did not suffer injury- the 'duty of care'
- They failed to comply with that duty because they did not act in a way that a reasonable person in that situation would act
- Their failure caused you to suffer the leg injury or leg injuries.
To begin a compensation case in the court, the person seeking compensation files a document called a 'claim'. This briefly sets out the basis of the claim and the outcome you want, such as an order for compensation. The claim must be accompanied by a 'statement of claim', which needs to give all the relevant details. There is a time limit for you to file these documents and if they are late, you will usually not be able to pursue your claim. That's why it's important to get the right legal advice early from personal injury lawyers who know the claims process inside out.
Even before you can start your leg injury claim you need to take certain steps required by a piece of legislation (law) called the
Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 - you may hear this referred to as 'PIPA'. As a basic summary, the steps under PIPA are:
-Notify the person or organisation you want to make the personal injury claim against - the other party (this must be done within 9 months of the incident that caused the injury, or 1 month of seeing a lawyer, whichever is sooner. And the notification must be on the approved form)
- The other party will respond
- The parties will exchange reports and other documents
- The parties will have a meeting or conference to try to reach an agreement about how much compensation should be paid.
The procedures are different if your leg injury has been caused by medical negligence. Once in court, personal injury claims must be run in a certain way, which is detailed in a set of rules called the
Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999. Our personal injury solicitors bring claims in the courts regularly and are very familiar with these rules.
Making a claim for leg injury compensation through the courts can be complicated and many people find it daunting. There can be a lot of formalities and it takes significant work to meet all the court's requirements. Injured people often choose to engage a specialist legal representative to help them navigate through the process.