Tag Archives: gold-coast-personal-injury-lawyers

Are Rear-end Accidents Always the Fault of the Driver of the Car Following?

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Gold Coast & Brisbane Car Accident Lawyers servicing all Qld on a No Win No Fee basis explain motor vehicle accident liability

Gold Coast & Brisbane Personal Injury Lawyers explain liability in Rear-ender car accidents. No Win No Fee Lawyers offering motor accident claim services to Qld.

There are all sorts of car accidents. There’s the T-boned accident, head on collision, fender bender, side-swipe, and of course, the most common of all, the rear-end motor vehicle accident or “rear-ender” as it is often referred to.

Rear-end collisions are the bane of motor vehicle CTP insurers because they commonly occur and inevitably result in injury. Most commonly injuries sustained in rear-ender accidents include spinal injuries such as whiplash injuries to the neck and back, head injuries and strain injuries to the shoulders and upper limbs and chest injuries.  Injuries that can have long term impact on their sufferers. And high impact rear-ender accidents can result in catastrophic injury and fatality.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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Steps to Take Following Workplace Injury

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Gold Coast & Brisbane Work Injury Lawyers explain steps to take after suffering injury in the workplace. No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers.

Brisbane & Gold Coast Workplace Injury Lawyers explain steps to take after injury in the workplace.

1. Report the Workplace Injury to Your Employer & WorkCover Queensland

When you suffer injury in the course of your work, it is important that you report the injury to your employer as soon as possible, even if you believe it to be only minor. Often what is considered a minor injury following an event can turn out to be a major problem later on, so having a contemporaneous reporting of the event causing it is very important.

Also submit an application for workers’ compensation to WorkCover Queensland or your employer’s workers’ compensation division if it is self-insured. This will ensure that you don’t miss the 6 month time limit for bringing a workers’ compensation claim, if you need to claim workers’ compensation benefits later on.Continue reading→

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.

Continue reading→

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).

Continue reading→

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→