A physical or psychological injury can come out of nowhere and have a devastating impact on your health and your ability to earn an income.
In New South Wales, if this injury is caused by another person, you may be entitled to compensation for your loss. These are personal injury claims.
What is personal injury in NSW?
In NSW, the Civil Liability Act 2002 governs all personal injury claims. Under this law, you can claim compensation, usually from an insurer, for your loss due to your injury.
There are many personal injury types, but these are the main ones:
- motor vehicle accident compensation – if you’re injured as a driver, passenger, pedestrian or other road user
- workers compensation – if you’re injured or become ill as a result of your work (no matter who was at fault)
- public liability compensation – if you’re injured in a public place due to someone’s negligence, including parks, public transport, shopping centres and offices
- medical negligence compensation – if you’re injured or become ill as a result of negligence by a medical professional
- total and permanent disability (TPD) payout – a lump sum payment if you can’t go back to work after any injury or illness.
There are also lesser known personal injury types, such as product liability, sexual harassment, institutional sexual abuse and crime victim compensation.
Personal injury benefits
The aim of personal injury compensation is to prevent financial hardship while you take time off work to recover from your injury. Every case is different, and your payout amount will depend on factors like the nature and extent of the injury, how it happened, your age and how the injury will effect your quality of life.
Benefits are usually income payments (lost wages), and medical and rehabilitation expenses. For more serious injuries, you might be eligible for a lump sum payment for future lost earnings and permanent impairment.
You might also be able to claim pain and suffering compensation, except for workers compensation (unless you’re an emergency services worker). This is referred to as non-economic loss.
Why someone might have a personal injury claim
Many people believe that it’s easy to get compensation for a personal injury claim, but it’s actually not simple. To make a successful claim, you have to prove that:
- someone else caused the injury (except for workers compensation, which is a no-fault scheme)
- the person who caused the injury had a duty of care for you
- that person breached their duty of care through negligence
- that negligence directly caused harm to you
- you have suffered loss as a result.
There is also the question of how much you may have been responsible for the injury and whether you ‘assumed the risk’, meaning you knew or should’ve known it could happen.
How to claim for personal injury in NSW
This is the general process for making a personal injury claim in NSW:
- Report the incident or accident – For example, report to the police after a motor vehicle accident or your employer after workplace accident.
- See a doctor – Get treatment as well as medical reports, including medical certificates, from your doctor to support your claim.
- Collect evidence – Gather the evidence you to need to prove your claim, such as witness statements, videos, photos, emails, etc.
- Submit the claim – Include all the required supporting documents and meet the strict timeframes.
The personal injury process can be a long and complex one, with many steps along the way. So it’s best to get legal expertise from the start to prevent delays.
An experienced personal injury lawyer will work on your behalf to collect evidence, make the claim, negotiate with insurers and get you the settlement you deserve. They know all the pitfalls and will never miss a deadline.
Final settlement amount
As every personal injury case is different, it’s impossible to pin down an exact amount that you may be eligible to receive. The final amount depends on many factors, including:
If yours is a minor injury requiring only a short time off work and no ongoing issues, your settlement might be tens of thousands of dollars.
But if the injury is more serious and requires surgery and a long period off work, or even prevents you working again in future, you may be eligible for hundreds of thousands or even more.
An experienced personal injury lawyer, like Main Lawyers, can get all these details from you and give you an idea of what you’re entitled to.
Reasons why you should seek legal help
A personal injury expert knows all the questions to ask to ensure you get everything you deserve. Never assume you’re not eligible for anything.
If you think it’s too late to claim, it’s worth checking, as we’ve had several situations where we’ve been able to claim for injuries that happened years ago.
Similarly, we’ve helped people who have had part or all of their claim rejected. Many people just accept the insurer’s denial without questioning it, but there may be some things you can do to challenge the rejected claim – other avenues you can take.
Remember, the other party’s insurer wants to minimise the amount they pay you – so their initial offer is often less than what they should or even are willing to pay you. This is where you need a tough negotiator on your side to go back and fight for you.
How Main Lawyers can help
Despite what you may hear on TV, there are many steps to a successful personal injury claim and many challenges along the way. It’s always best to have a legal expert on the journey with you.
We offer a free consultation to discuss what has happened to you and advise on what compensation you may be eligible for.
If you decide to proceed, our no-win, no-fee option means you won’t pay any professional fees until your case settles. So you’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain. Contact us today to find out more.