Public Liability Compensation Claims

You should not speak to or to give a statement an insurance investigator regarding a public liability claim without first getting expert advice from a lawyer.

Contact me if an insurance investigator wants to speak to you and I can help you.

In my experience, in many public liability cases the party at fault will ignore you hoping you give up or otherwise the party at fault simply doesn’t know what to do about your claim. Sometimes commencing legal action is the only way to get your compensation claim up and running.

Not every accident is captured on CCTV. In the majority of public liability claims, in my experience, there is no CCTV, but nonetheless many of those cases are still successful.

Often in public liability claims the accident is captured on CCTV. In some of those cases, the CCTV footage will be crucial.

CCTV footage is however private and confidential. The property owner/manager and/or security company will have exclusive control of it, and they are not obliged to keep it and nor are they obliged to provide you with a copy of it or allow you to see it.

It is unlikely that a property owner/manager/security company will allow an unrepresented claimant to have a copy of or to see CCTV footage.

I have acted in numerous public liability cases where I have been able to obtain CCTV footage and if necessary, obtain a court order forcing the other party to hand over a copy of CCTV footage.

I offer a free first appointment in person, by phone, or by email to assess your claim.

If I assess that your claim is will likely result in a payout, and I agree to take it on for you, then you have no need to worry about fees.

In those circumstances I will offer you my no win no fee service to run your claim with fees only payable upon your case being settled for a lump sum. No fees will be payable along the way to settlement of your claim and in most of cases most of your legal fees will be covered by the insurer over and above your settlement when your claim settles.

You will receive a full explanation of my no-win no fee service at your first appointment.

If you have a valid claim, then then it is likely you will be entitled to a public liability compensation payout.

The public liability system provides for compensation entitlements to be payable by way of a once and for all lump sum payment. In most cases the lump sum is in an amount negotiated and settled with an insurer. In a small number of cases that are not settled and proceed to court the lump sum amount is decided by a judge after trial.

Contact me to find out your rightful compensation payout with the help of my specialist legal knowledge and experience public liability claims.

Yes, time strict limits do apply for commencing court proceedings for a public liability related compensation claims.

You must either settle your public liability claim or commence court proceedings before 3 years elapses from the date of your accident.

Longer time limits within which to settle or commence court proceedings will apply for people who were minors (under the age of 18) when the accident occurred. Longer time limits can apply to mentally disabled people in some circumstances.

If time limits are not strictly adhered to you could forever lose your right to obtain compensation.

In almost all public liability claims for accidents that occur in WA the compensation that the negligent party is liable to pay you is covered by an insurer. Some large companies will self-insure for public liability.

The simple answer is - not without first getting legal advice.

Sometimes in public liability cases, offer of settlement will be made to unrepresented claimant very soon after the accident has occurred. For example, supermarket owners or their insurer will make a nominal offer as a “gesture of good will”.

In my experience an offer made to an unrepresented claimant will, in most but not every case, be far too low.

In hundreds of cases I have successfully obtained compensation for clients significantly higher, and sometimes many times higher, than the offer they had received before seeing me.

The answer for almost all cases is no.

In the vast majority of public liability claims, compensation will only be payable if the accident was caused by negligence of another party.

In many accidents it can be proven that another party has been negligent.

In almost all cases the answer is no.

In all but the rarest of cases, no entitlements, not even medical expenses, will be paid prior to settlement.

Generally, public liability claims for most type of injuries, even fairly significant ones can be finalised between 18 and 24 months.

Other injuries, for example those requiring multiple operations, serious spinal injuries and head injuries can take longer than that.

Your case should only be settled when it is in your best interests to do so. That will be when your injuries have reached medical stabilisation to the extent that a medical specialist can give an opinion with a fair degree of confidence as to the likely long-term effects your injuries will have upon you including you general way of life, your work capacity, your future need for medical, pharmaceutical and other treatment and/or your future need for services of a nursing or domestic nature.

This is not a simple question to answer. There are many considerations, such as:

• Whether you have a valid claim
• Whether the accident was the other party’s fault
• Whether you were partly to blame for the accident
• The nature and extent of the injuries you suffered in the accident
• The effect the injuries have had and will continue to have upon your general way of life,  your earning capacity, service needs and treatment needs.
• How long lasting your injuries are and whether they are likely to be permanent.
• Whether you had any pre-existing injuries or condition
• The strengths and weaknesses of any medical or other evidence obtained by the insurer.

If you have a valid public liability claim, then the compensation you are entitled to can include:

1. General damages for pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and loss of amenities.

2. Loss of earning capacity (including superannuation) both past and future;

3. Hospital, surgical, medical, pharmaceutical and other treatment expenses both past and future;

4. Services of a nursing and domestic nature whether paid or gratuitous both past and future;

5. Travel expenses

You compensation is however subject to restrictions imposed by the Civil Liability Act 2002 which may prevent or reduce the compensation you could otherwise obtain for certain aspects of your loss and damage.