Category Archives: Accident & Injury Compensation Claims

Personal Injury Solicitors vs Personal Injury Lawyers- What’s the Difference?

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Gold Coast and Brisbane Personal Injury Lawyers, expert in accident and injury compensation claims. No Win No Fee Lawyers.

Gold Coast and Brisbane Personal Injury Lawyers explain the difference between lawyers, solicitors and barristers in Qld

We’re often asked the difference between a lawyer, solicitor and a barrister. Firstly, solicitors and barristers are all lawyers. A “Lawyer” is someone who practices or studies law, and in Queensland, this includes both solicitors and barristers.  However, reference to a “lawyer” in Queensland, is usually reference to a solicitor rather than a barrister.

Another term used to refer to a lawyer is “attorney”. However, this terminology is rarely used in Queensland or Australia, but is most commonly used in the American legal system.

The Difference Between Solicitors and Barristers in Queensland 

In Queensland, barristers are also referred to as “Legal Counsel” or “Counsel” and whereas a solicitor is engaged by the client to handle a case, a barrister is usually engaged by a solicitor to appear or advise on behalf of their client in a case. When a barrister is engaged by a solicitor on a legal matter, this is termed, “briefing Counsel”.Continue reading→

Personal Injury Claims & Dangerous Recreational Activities

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Gold Coast & Brisbane Personal Injury Lawyers explain law affecting personal injury claims involving dangerous recreational activities

Brisbane & Gold Coast No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers explain the law restricting claims for injury arising from dangerous recreational activity.

Restrictions on Claims for Injury Involving Dangerous Recreational Activity

In Queensland, the Civil Liability Act 2003 (CLA) restricts personal injury claims for injury resulting from dangerous recreational activity.  The law says that if you’re injured whilst engaging in a dangerous recreational activity, and your injury results from the materialisation of an obvious risk inherent in that activity, then you cannot claim compensation for your injury on the grounds of negligence.

What is “Dangerous Recreational Activity”?

The CLA defines “dangerous recreational activity” as an activity engaged in for enjoyment, relaxation or leisure, involving a significant degree of risk of suffering physical harm.

To give you an idea of what is considered to be a dangerous recreational activity, below we have provided you with a list of what the Courts have decided on this question.  Note that there is similar legislation in other Australian States, and so we have included the decisions of interstate Courts, in our list.

The Courts have considered the following activities to be “dangerous recreational activities”:Continue reading→

Personal Injury Lawyers Explain When Liability Waivers Apply

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How Much Compensation Will I Recieve For My Personal Injury Claim?

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Personal Injury Lawyers article on how to calculate injury compensation in a personal injury claim. No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers in Brisbane & Gold Coast.

Personal Injury Lawyers explain how compensation is calculated in a personal injury claim. No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers, Brisbane & Gold Coast.

No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers are often asked this question when taking enquiries about personal injury claims. And understandably so. If you’re considering whether you’ll take legal action by way of a personal injury claim, then you’ll want to know how much compensation you are looking at achieving in taking that step. You need to know it will be a worthwhile process.

Calculating Personal Injury Claim Compensation Amounts

It is just not possible for a personal injury lawyer to tell you point blank, you’ll receive so much compensation for your personal injury claim, just by the injury you have sustained.  There are numerous variables to be considered.  No one personal injury claim is exactly like another, because each of these variables will be different for each individual claimant.

The major variables to be considered when calculating personal Continue reading→

Brisbane and Gold Cost Personal Injury Lawyers explain Common Law Claims

What is a Common Law Claim?

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No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers are experts in personal injury claims, including Common Law Claims. A Common Law Claim is what most of us know as a lawsuit. It is where you sue a party who has wrongfully or negligently caused you to suffer injury, to obtain compensation for your injury and any resulting loss and damage. Examples of this are where you sue an at-fault driver for injuries you suffer in a car accident, or suing a Shopping Centre for injuries sustained because of unsafe premises.

The Difference Between a Common Law Claim and a Statutory Claim

Common Law claims are claims you have at Common Law.  “Common Law” is law that has developed over many years of judicial decisions (Court decisions). It is to be distinguished from “statutory law”, which is law enacted by legislation or statute. Rights or entitlements we have at Common Law can only be altered by legislation specifically restricting or adding to them.

A good example of this is in the case of work injury claims in Queensland. When a worker in Queensland is injured at work, on their way to or from work or during a work break, they have a right to bring a workers’ compensation claim. A worker’s right to workers’ compensation is not a Common Law right. It is a right provided by way of legislation or statute, more specifically, the Workers’ Compensation & Rehabilitation Act 2003. Hence, often workers’ compensation claims are referred to as “statutory claims”.

Common Law Claims For Damages for Work Injury

But workers in Queensland also have another right to claim compensation when injured at work. This secondary claim is their Common Law right to claim damages, and hence is called a Common Law Claim for Damages. It is where the injured worker brings a legal claim, or law suit, against their employer, to obtain lump sum compensation for their work injury and any resulting loss and damage caused by their injury.

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