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Personal Injury | QLD | Legal Guides for Lawyers
Mon Feb 20 2012 13:00:00 GMT+0000 (UTC)
Wed Nov 13 2019 04:13:06 GMT+0000
FULL COMMENTARY - PERSONAL INJURY (QLD)
“ Queensland A full commentary on the law and practice as it currently applies to personal injury matters. ”
“ Queensland Law Society – Personal injuries law Lexon Insurance – Member login required ”
“ District Court Civil (QLD) Magistrates Court Civil (QLD) ”
“ The conduct of a personal injury claim is governed by a number of pieces of legislation, all of which have strict time limits. Practitioners must ensure they are aware of the time limits, as failure to comply may mean a client’s claim is unable to succeed, and the practitioner may be exposed to a ... ”
“ This Personal Injury Guide concentrates upon injury claims caused by negligence, the questions and considerations that should be taken into account and the steps necessary to get the claim underway. A client will either come in to see you specifically because they want to receive advice about an ... ”
“ The legislative provisions relating to liability and damages should be kept in mind at the time of obtaining initial instructions, so that all relevant information is obtained and considered during preparation and when advising the client on the strength of their claim and the range of damages ... ”
Letter of engagement with CSA - Extensive
Statement of loss and damage information sheet
Form 3 - Notice of Claim - Dependency Claims
Form 2 - Notice of Claim - Health Care Claims
Form 1 - Notice of Claim - Non Health Care Claims
“ It is important to gain a firm understanding of what the factual evidence relevant to liability and consequent loss is likely to be before: providing initial advice to a client about the likely success of any claim; or ”
Initial letter to doctor with authority and fees for injury report
Letter to specialist doctor for report
Letter to hospital for clinical notes with authority and fees
Letter to hospital for report with authority and fees
C. Commencing proceedings
Notice of claim - Part 1
“ The first step in bringing the claim is to issue a Part 1 of the Notice of Claim on the respondent, the person your client believes caused the accident or injury. This form must be sent to the respondent: ”
Letter to respondent enclosing part 1 of the notice of claim
Letter to respondent's solicitor enclosing part 1 of the notice of claim
Response to the notice of claim - Part 1
“ Within one month of service of the Notice of Claim, the respondent must respond confirming that it is a proper respondent and confirm compliance with the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act. Acknowledgment that a person is a proper respondent to a claim is not considered to be an admission of ... ”
Notice of Claim - Part 2
“ The part 2 Notice must be given to the respondent within 2 months of the earlier of: the date that the respondent replied to the Part 1 Notice (regardless of whether they accept that they are the proper respondent to the claim); or ”
Notice of Claim - General Information
“ It is unnecessary for a claimant to undergo a medical assessment before providing details about the extent of disabilities suffered from the injury :see Sarina v Thursday Afternoon Pty Ltd [2003] QDC 149 at [11]; The Notice of Claim must contain all of the information required by section 3 of the ... ”
Notice of Claim - Service
“ Practitioners should be aware that the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act does not define how someone should ‘give’ a notice of claim to the respondent. The best course is to serve the respondent either personally or via post, as per the requirements of section 39 of the Acts Interpretation Act ... ”
Starting urgent proceedings - ss 43 and 44 of Personal Injury Proceedings Act
“ Proceedings may be commenced despite non-compliance with Personal Injury Proceedings Act if: the client’s limitation period is fast approaching (within three months); or ”
Within six months of receipt of complying notice of claim
“ Under section 20 of the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act, the onus is on the respondent, within six months of receiving a complying Part 1 Notice of Claim, to: take reasonable steps to inform itself about the incident alleged to have given rise to the injury; ”
D. Calculating Damages
“ If the client’s claim is settled or the court makes an award in the client’s favour, the money received is referred to as ‘damages’. Damages may be received as a lump sum settlement, after the deduction of any: ”
Calculating a client’s quantum
“ ‘Quantum’ is the apportionment of damages to indicate the share owed to a certain party. That is, the amount of money awarded by way of damages. The Statement of Loss and Damage Information Sheet in the matter plan provides examples of the sort of information it is necessary to gather in order to ... ”
“ The Civil Liability Act 2003 sets out certain thresholds and limits that apply to damages payable for harm suffered by a claimant. ”
“ To assess general damages they must be calculated in reference to the general damages calculation provisions, applying to the period within which the injury arose pursuant to the regulation. An injury scale value (ISV) is applied to the injury sustained and this must then be assessed against the ... ”
“ As with all civil litigation, the claimant has a duty to take all reasonable steps to mitigate their loss. This is an ongoing obligation. If the respondent does not believe that the claimant is adequately attempting to mitigate their loss, the respondent may serve notice suggesting specific action ... ”
Damages for loss of earnings – s 54
“ Section 54 Civil Liability Act provides: (1) In making an award of damages for loss of earnings, including in a dependency claim, the maximum award a court may make is for an amount equal to the limit fixed by subsection (2). ”
Gratuitous attendant care services – s 59
“ Section 59 of the Civil Liability Act Damages for gratuitous attendant care services are for services of a domestic nature, services relating to nursing, and services that aim to alleviate the consequences of an injury. These services are provided by another person to the claimant, for which the ... ”
Loss of superannuation entitlements – s 56
“ Section 56 of the Civil Liabilities Act A claimant is entitled to claim for the loss of their superannuation benefits: see Todorovic v Waller (1981) 150 CLR 402. ”
Damages for loss of consortium or loss of servitium – s 58
“ Section 58 of the Civil Liability Act Summarily, this means: ”
“ See section 52 of the Civil Liability Act 2003. In a claim for personal injury damages a court cannot award exemplary, punitive or aggravated damages unless the act that caused the injury was an unlawful intentional act done with intent to cause injury or an unlawful sexual assault or other ... ”
“ Section 60 of the Civil Liability Act The court cannot order the payment of interest on an award for general damages or an award for damages for gratuitous services. ”
E. Settling it early
After you have a complying notice
“ Within one month of service of a complying Notice of Claim, parties must exchange relevant documents and information, using Part 2 of the Notice of Claim. Relevant documents might include: ”
Letter to respondent enclosing Part 2 of the notice of claim
“ If the matter cannot be settled as described above, then a compulsory conference must be held unless dispensed with by agreement between the parties, or by order of the court. If the conference is dispensed with by agreement, then proceedings must be commenced within 60 days of the date of the ... ”
“ See section 39 of the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act If the matter is not settled at the compulsory conference, each party must exchange mandatory final offers at the conference (MFOs), which remain open for 14 days. ”
F. If required - Going to court
“ Obtaining advice from counsel experienced in this field is highly recommended. For example, if you were to make an offer to settle a claim which is in fact too low, and does not take into account a number of heads of damage, you may expose yourself to a negligence claim. If you do not practice ... ”
“ It may be necessary to obtain reports from experts such as medical specialists, accountants, rehabilitation advisers, mental health professionals, nursing, domestic, handyman or other attendant caregivers, architects (in cases where modifications to a home are required) vocational capacity ... ”
“ The litigation process is the same as that outlined in the Magistrates, District and Supreme Court Legal Practice Guides. You should refer to them when proceedings are instituted. If the matter does proceed to trial it is worth remembering that the case is not over, and the file is not dead, the ... ”
Trial preparation checklist - Personal injury claim
Settlement before judgment is delivered
“ Remember that the case can still settle even after the trial is over, and before judgment is delivered. As no one knows for sure what a judge will do once all the evidence and argument has been heard, it may be appropriate to make another offer. Advise your client of this possibility. ”
“ Most judges will reserve their decision and one may expect to wait weeks, months, or even a year for a judgment. Warn your client of this fact as oftentimes they do not realise and expect a decision on the spot at the end of the evidence. This period of waiting can be extremely stressful for a ... ”
“ Win or lose When the judgment is finally delivered, you will either have won or lost. ”
Refunds following a successful claim for damages
“ If a client is successful in a common law claim for damages and receives a payment of compensation, any payments made to them by WorkCover, Centrelink, Medicare Australia, the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, or a private health insurer, must be repaid from the damages ... ”
“ Before a respondent will hand over any money they must be provided with: a Notice of Charge from Medicare; and ”