Those who are suffering bodily or psychological harm as a result of someone else’s lack of care, can file a personal injury claim to recover their loss. As severe injuries can lead to a permanently decreased capacity to work, and the inability to perform daily tasks, financial difficulties might appear in the future. To avoid this fact, with a strong representation at the court, personal injury damages can be received. Under the personal injury law, public liability accidents, workers compensation injuries, motor vehicle accidents, medical negligence injuries and total & permanent disabilities are compensable. For further information regarding workplace injuries, click here.
Workplace injuries and workers compensation claims
Fortunately, in Australia, Workers Compensation Independent Review Office – WIRO is fully supporting the workers suffering injuries in the course of employment. Workers can demand compensation from workplace insurers in case an accident arises. As workers compensation is designed on the no-fault system, employers or their insurers cannot deny injured workers’ claim. Through the process, both the employer and the worker have responsibilities.
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The employer cannot dismiss the injured worker after an accident
Mentioned in the Workers Compensation Act of NSW, worker dismissals for a period of time (in NSW, within 6 months) is strictly forbidden. If violated, employers can face harsh fines and penalties.
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Workplace and work-related injuries should be recorded by the employers
Employers are obliged to keep digital or written records of workplace injuries. These records should involve the contact details of the injured workers, date, time and description of the accident.
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Initial notification
Once the employer is aware of the accident, the relevant insurer should be contacted within 48 hours.
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Back to work assistance plan
The insurer and the employer should assist the worker throughout the process. Once the worker is back to his/her natural fitness level, the employer should provide a work plan suitable to the needs of the worker. However, the worker can reject to return to his or her pre-injury work.
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At-work recovery
Statistics demonstrate that injured workers can recover in a better mental state while at work. For this reason, if the responsible medical practitioner approves, the worker can demand to recover while working. The employer, case manager and the worker can establish a work plan having regard to the worker’s state of health.
Public liability injuries
Public liability relates to having a legal duty to keep others away from harm. From party hosts to restaurant managements, businesses and individuals providing a service or hosting an organization are obliged to prevent harm to their clients, customers and visitors. However, understanding the obvious risk factor plays a major role in public liability claims. Obvious or inherent risk, is a state which the risk is involved in the nature of the activity. As an example, cliff diving involves an inherent risk. A reasonable person performing the activity is expected to be aware of these risks and evaluate the potential outcomes of such activities. In public liability claims, the decision-making mechanism is mostly based on a reasonable peer’s actions and care on similar occasions.
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Slip and fall injuries
Dim lightings and insufficiently illuminated environments can lead to unexpected but harmful situations, such as slip and fall injuries. Research shows that many of the victims of negligent based slip and fall accidents were not aware of the slippery surfaces due to lack of lightings. Although simply slipping and falling is being encountered regularly, damages taken to the head can lead to severe injuries.
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Injuries from hazardous objects
Businesses are responsible to eliminate hazards to avoid any adverse outcome. In unproperly maintained businesses, almost every object can be hazardous. But mostly, mounted objects, hung objects and glasses can reach intense speeds while free falling. Any damage taken to the head by these objects can cause permanent injuries and even death.
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Food poisoning
Among the many causes of food poisoning, contaminated food, beverages, vegetables and uncooked meat can lead to acute food poisoning. Recent e. Coli and salmonella crisis caused well-known food chains above a million dollars of compensation and reputational loss. These are the consequences of possibilities that could be avoided if the necessary care was taken.
Negligence in motor vehicle accidents
Vehicles in Australia are required to be insured with a Compulsory Third Party – CTP insurance. CTP is an insurance scheme designed and regulated by the government with the sole purpose of recovering the bodily loss of victims in car accidents. The degree of fault is determined by many factors. Improper lane change, driving above speed limits, joyriding, ignoring lights and signs are the most notorious forms of negligence in motor vehicle accidents.
With the recent modifications, motor vehicle accidents in Australia are partially based on the no-fault scheme. However, this is available for a limited extent. Unless the injured person committed a serious driving offence, both parties can receive income support payments for a limited amount of time. On the other hand, the party that is not at fault can continue to receive income support payments further.
Medical negligence compensation
Medical professionals have the duty to provide treatments at accepted standards to avoid critical or worsened health conditions. These duties can be breached if the treatment quality falls below these standards. Lack of sufficient care, faulty healthcare equipment, anaesthesia complications, birth defects, medication prescription errors and failure or delay to inform the patient on potential risks are determined as medical negligence. A patient suffering consequence of medical professional’s omission or negligent actions can claim compensation.
Personal injury lawyers
Injuries, direct or indirect economic loss and mental damages are compensable in personal injury claims. However, a strong presence in the court and against the insurer is a must as determining liability is critically important. For this reason, hiring a personal injury lawyer would be a wise choice. Personal injury cases are known as complex claims that can payout in great amounts if the process is managed professionally. However, undercompensating is always a possibility in individual representations. To avoid this fact, you can always request a free case evaluation and plan your steps with the assistance of an injury compensation lawyer.
