Medical Negligence & Warning of Treatment Risks

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Medical Malpractice Lawyers explain failure to warn of risks in medical negligence claims

Medical Malpractice Lawyers explain failure to warn of risks in medical negligence claims. No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers are experts in Medical Malpractice and Medical Negligence Claims & have offices in Brisbane and Gold Coast.

If you suffer injury as a result of substandard medical treatment then you can bring a claim to receive compensation for the injury sustained and any resulting loss and damage suffered. But did you know that when a doctor fails to warn you of any risks involved in the treatment they prescribe, then you may also have a claim for medical negligence? Well this is in fact the case.

Failure to Warn of Risks can also Constitute Medical Negligence

Medical Malpractice is not limited solely to poor medical treatment. Failure by a medical practitioner to warn of risks associated with medical treatment can also constitute medical negligence.

If your doctor prescribes medication, surgery or any other treatment that has an associated risk of injury, then your doctor is under a duty to warn you of those risks. If the doctor fails to do so and you proceed with the treatment, suffering a risk of injury that should have been forewarned, then you are entitled to compensation for the injury and any loss and damage you sustain as a result.

For example, say you undergo a discectomy for your back injury and during surgery your surgeon nicks a spinal nerve causing you to suffer Cauda Equina injury, resulting in partial paraplegia. If your surgeon, prior to surgery, failed to warn you of the risk that this could result from surgery and, had you known of this risk beforehand you would most likely not have proceeded with the surgery, then you would be entitled to claim for the injury sustained and all resulting loss and damage you suffer as a result.  

To learn more about medical malpractice/ medical negligence claims and how they work, go to our “Medical Negligence” webpage specifically on this topic.

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Most Motor Vehicle Accidents Occur Friday Afternoons

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Motor Vehicle Accident Lawyers Gold Coast and Brisbane. No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers.

No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers are Gold Coast & Brisbane Car Accident Lawyers, expert in Qld motor vehicle accident claims.

Did you know that most motor vehicle accidents in Queensland occur at 3pm on a Friday afternoon? According to research undertaken by Queensland’s Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC) this is the case.

Most Car Accidents in Queensland Occur at 3pm on Friday Afternoons

Obviously drivers are busy contemplating their weekend ahead & taking their minds off the road in front of them. Distraction is a major cause of motor vehicle accidents and it’s not just due to mobile phones or changing your radio station whilst driving. Not keeping your mind on the road ahead can be just as dangerous.

So this Friday when you’re on your way home from work or doing that school pick up, remember to keep your mind on the road ahead. And keep an eye on the drivers around you too. You may be paying attention, but that truck driver, motorist or cyclist next to you may be pondering that weekend away they’ve been dreaming of all week!

Most Qld Road Accidents Happen in Brisbane & Most are Within a Short Distance of the Driver’s Home

A lot of car accidents also occur within a short distance of the driver’s home. As they say, “familiarity breeds contempt”. Keep in mind – you may know your hood well, but the drivers around you may not. And changes can occur at any time, and usually when you least expect it. So be prepared for anything. Continue reading→

QLD Motor Accident Claims Work

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Brisbane Car Accident Lawyers explain fairness of the Qld Motor Accident Scheme

Brisbane motor accident lawyers explain how the Qld motor accident injury claim scheme works. No win no fee lawyers with offices in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast.

Recently we have seen Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurers, RACQ Insurance and Suncorp Insurance, complaining about the CTP Claims Scheme in Queensland and lobbying for changes. This is a recurring theme for Queensland Insurers.

Insurers often use the threat of higher insurance premiums to incite public support for their campaign to reduce compensation payments in motor vehicle accident claims, citing increasing claims and claim costs as the reason for this potential price hike. But what Insurers don’t tell you is there has actually been a reduction in claims for motor accident injuries in Queensland over the past 10 years.

MAIC is the Motor Accident Insurance Commission in Queensland. This body regulates the Queensland Motor Accident Insurance Scheme, regulating CTP insurance and personal injury claims for motor accident injuries in Queensland.  MAIC issues reports annually showing motor accident claim statistics for each financial year. These statistics clearly show that there has been a reduction in motor accident injury claims over the past 10 years and this is particularly so given Queensland’s increasing population and number of registered vehicles on Queensland roads over this period.

MAIC’s latest financial year statistics (2016 financial year) show that in the 2008 financial year there were over 3,324,000 registered vehicles in Queensland, 6524 claims and a personal injury claim frequency score of 2. In the 2016 financial year there were around 4,064,000 registered vehicles in Queensland, 6888 claims and a claim frequency score of 1.7.  This clearly indicates a decreasing claim frequency over the past 10 years.

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No Workers’ Compensation Claim Could Lose You Lump Sum Compensation

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No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers explain how not bringing a Workers’ Compensation claim can result in the loss of lump sum compensation. Gold Coast & Brisbane Experts in Workplace Injury Claims, servicing all Queensland.

Did you know that if you suffer an injury at work, resulting in a degree of permanent impairment (DPI), you have a right to statutory lump sum compensation?

Explaining Degree of Permanent Impairment (DPI) in Workplace Injury Claims

You’re considered to have sustained DPI where you have ongoing symptomatology from your work injury which impairs your ability to undertake your every living activities. DPI in work injury claims is assessed as a percentage under the Guide for Evaluating Permanent Impairment also known as GEPI.

After your work injury stabilises, if you’re injury is assessed by a GEPI trained medical expert as resulting in more than 0% DPI, then you will be entitled to a lump sum payment of compensation. You will have this entitlement no matter who was at fault for your work injury, as long as your injury was sustained in the course of your work, on your way to or from work or during a work break. It is called “statutory lump sum compensation”, because your entitlement to such compensation is pursuant to legislation, namely, the Workers’ Compensation & Rehabilitation Act 2003.Continue reading→

Steps to Take Following a Motor Vehicle Accident

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Notices of Assessment in Workers’ Compensation & Work Injury Claims

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Gold Coast and Brisbane Personal Injury Lawyers explain Notices of Assessment in Queensland work injury claims

It’s imperative you seek advice from No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers before making any response to a Notice of Assessment in your work injury claim.

At the end of your workers’ compensation claim for work injury, the workers’ compensation insurer may issue you with a document called a “Notice of Assessment”. This document will list all your injuries sustained in your work accident and accord a degree of permanent impairment assessed by a doctor for each injury, and a total of the degree of permanent impairment assessed for all your injuries.

What is “degree of permanent impairment” for a work injury?  

Taking your body’s overall functioning as 100%, a doctor trained in permanent impairment assessments will evaluate the degree your work injury has impaired your bodily function.  The degree of permanent impairment is assessed as a percentage and is based on the impact the injury has on your capacity to undertake your everyday living activities. For example, your back injury sustained at work, may be assessed as resulting in permanent impairment of your capacity to undertake your everyday normal living activities of 10%.
Assessment of permanent impairment for work injuries in Queensland is undertaken in accordance with the Guide to Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, or “GEPI” as it is also known. Doctors who undertake these assessments must be accredited in evaluating permanent impairment under this Guide.
So at the end of your workers’ compensation claim, Workcover or the self insurer, will have your work injury reviewed by a GEPI trained doctor and ask for their assessment of what degree of permanent impairment your work injury has caused. The workers’ compensation insurer then issues you with a Notice of Assessment stipulating the degree of permanent impairment assessed.

Statutory Lump Sum Offers of Compensation with the Notice of Assessment

If the degree of permanent impairment stated in your Notice of Assessment is stated as more than 0%,  then you will be made an offer of lump sum compensation when receiving your Notice of Assessment.  The higher the degree of impairment, the greater the lump sum offer will be.  Normally, the offer is around $3,000 for each 1% of permanent impairment assessed (eg. 5% degree of permanent impairment will result in an offer of approximately $15,000).

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Lump Sum Offers in Workers’ Compensation Claims

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Personal Injury Lawyers expert in workplace injury claims explain Lump Sum Statutory Offers for workplace injuries.

No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers Brisbane and Gold Coast – Speak to us before making any decision to accept lump sum compensation for your work injury.

At the end of your workers’ compensation claim you may receive a Notice of Assessment from the workers’ compensation insurer allocating a permanent impairment  percentage for your work injury. If you don’t know what a Notice of Assessment in a work injury claim is and would like to know more, please read our website post on Notices of Assessment at the end of your workers’ compensation claim.

Notices of Assessment & Permanent Impairment for Work Injury

Permanent Impairment is a percentage of impairment of bodily functioning allocated to an injury. Looking at your body as 100% functioning, an injury can impair your body’s normal functioning to a certain extent.  This impairment in functioning is assessed by trained medical experts and accorded a percentage. The more serious the injury and its impact on your ability to function normally, the higher the percentage of permanent impairment accorded to the injury. For example, you may have sustained a back injury at work and doctors may assess your back injury as causing you a loss of bodily functioning of 10%.

Permanent Impairment in work injury claims in Queensland is assessed under the Guide to Evaluation of Permanent Impairment or GEPI as it is more commonly called.

When Statutory Lump Sum Offers are Made by Workcover or Workers’ Compensation Insurer

If your work injury has been assessed as suffering permanent impairment of more than 0% in your Notice of Assessment issued by Workcover (or the self-insurer) at the end of your workers’ compensation claim, you will be Continue reading→

Personal Injury Lawyers’ Warn Don’t Ignore Minor Accident Injuries

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No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers explain the importance of reporting & not ignoring minor accident injuries.

Personal Injury Lawyers offering No Win No Fee Services to Queenslanders, with offices in Brisbane & Gold Coast, explain the importance of reporting & not ignoring minor accident injuries.

As personal injury lawyers we often see cases where what are considered minor injuries sustained in an accident, becoming long term problems later on, interfering with everyday living activities and employment and in some cases, even requiring surgery down the track.

Whiplash & Strain Injuries Can Become Long Term Problems

A prime example of this are whiplash or strain injuries from motor vehicle accidents. Often victims of these types of injuries are told their injuries will improve over a short period of time, leaving them with no long term problems. However, although these types of injuries can improve initially in the weeks or months following an accident, they can tend to “hang around”, flaring up with certain activity and becoming long term problems for their sufferers.

Whiplash injuries can result in ongoing headaches, neck pain & stiffness & can restrict everyday living and Continue reading→

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→

What’s a Compulsory Third Party Insurance Claim?

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No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers specialise in motor vehicle accident claims. We are experts in Compulsory Third Party Insurance claims & are Brisbane & Gold Coast Motor Vehicle Accident Claim Lawyers.

No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers Motor Accident Injury Claim Experts Brisbane & Gold Coast

No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers specialise in all areas of personal injury law, including Compulsory Third Party Insurance Claims.

What is a Compulsory Third Party Insurance Claim, or “CTP Claim”, as they are also known? A Compulsory Third Party Insurance Claim, or CTP Claim, is quite simply a claim for compensation for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident. In other words, a motor accident injury claim.

The reason we use the term, “Compulsory Third Party Insurance Claim”, is because motor accident injury claims in Queensland, although brought against the at-fault driver, are actually paid for by the Compulsory Third Party Insurer (CTP Insurer) of the at-fault vehicle.

Compulsory Third Party Insurance

Compulsory Third Party Insurance is motor vehicle insurance that insures at-fault drivers against claims for motor accident injury. Under Queensland law, it’s mandatory for all motor vehicles on Queensland roads to be insured for Compulsory Third Party Insurance. It is a compulsory requirement, and hence the title, “Compulsory Third Party Insurance”.

Oddly enough, and despite its compulsory nature, many car owners are unaware they have CTP Insurance attached to their vehicle.  This is most likely because, in Queensland, CTP Insurance is automatically included in your annual motor vehicle registration fees.

Often people confuse CTP Insurance with Comprehensive Motor Vehicle Insurance. However, CTP Insurance is completely separate and distinct from Comprehensive Motor Vehicle Insurance. Whereas CTP Insurance insures against motor accident injury, Comprehensive Motor Vehicle Insurance insures solely against vehicle and property damage resulting from a motor vehicle accident.

Unlike CTP Insurance, Comprehensive Insurance, is not compulsory. A motor vehicle owner can choose not to take out Comprehensive Insurance to cover claims for vehicle & property damage.

Most significantly, the purpose of CTP Insurance is to ensure that all those injured on Queensland’s roads have recourse to compensation for their injuries and any resultant loss and damage sustained as a consequence.

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