Personal Injury >
 Frequently Asked Questions

You might have slipped on water on a supermarket floor, or hurt yourself badly at work. You may have medical bills to repair botched surgery or whiplash from a car crash.

Whatever the cause of your injury, it can be enough to keep you off work — and in pain — for weeks, months or even a lifetime.

The law recognises that in certain circumstances when people are injured and it is not their fault, they should be entitled to claim compensation that might help cover medical expenses, treatment costs and an entitlement for the pain and suffering they have incurred.

The area is a complex one, however, and different rules apply, depending on how the injuries occurred.

Someone who suffers an injury or develops and illness related to their employment, there are a range of statutory entitlements.

It is a no-fault system, and in some cases, seriously injured workers can also have a claim for common law damages — provided they can demonstrate their employer or a fellow employee was negligent and meet other eligibility requirements.

Motor crash injuries are treated differently, however, and the victim must demonstrate the other party was either totally or partially negligent.

They are entitled to a capped level of damages for compensation for the actual injuries sustained, pain, suffering and inconvenience and loss of enjoyment and amenities of life. On top of this, they are entitled to coverage of reasonable and necessary hospital, medical and rehabilitation expenses, as well as allowances towards loss of income, future treatment expenses and for home and other services needed due to their injuries.

Someone injured as the result of a criminal offence is also entitled to compensation. This is the case even if police do not know who committed the crime, but it has to be established that a crime occurred and it has been officially reported.

Then there are other accidents — such as slipping and falling in a public place, being injured in an aircraft accident, developing a disease as the result of industrial exposure or being harmed through medical negligence.

Each area has its own criteria for eligibility and restrictions — and one of the most important issues is the matter of time, because strict time limitations apply in relation making claims.