Whether at work or in everyday life, it’s a part of life that you would get in an accident and get hurt. However, it’s an altogether different issue if the cause is no fault of your own or, in some instances, the injury occurs at work.
Australia has very clear laws when it comes to personal injury. In fact, injury lawyers Newcastle such as Conrad Curry are experts in handling cases such as these.
Need to understand more about personal injury? Read this article to know more and determine if you are eligible for any damages or compensation.
Common Types of Personal Injury
Personal injury laws in the country cover numerous incidents, including but not limited to:
Motor Vehicle Accidents – injuries caused by a moving vehicle
Medical Negligence – injuries or complications caused by negligence such as errors in surgery, misdiagnosis, prescribing wrong medication, and the like
Product Liability – injuries caused by manufacturing or design flaws of a product
Workplace Injuries – injuries which occurred in the workplace
Public Liability – injuries sustained in public or private property such as parks, malls, hotels, apartment, and the like
How to Process Personal Injury Claims
Filing for personal injury claims can be a long and tedious process. This is why firms that specialize in personal law such as Conrad Curry are often hired to handle these types of cases.
In a nutshell, though, here are the steps that you need to do if you want to file a personal injury claim.
- Hire a personal injury lawyer. This should be done almost immediately after the accident has occurred. At the very least, do this step once you are able to take calls as these lawyers will be able to assist you in the succeeding steps.
- Acquire medical attention for your injury. Make sure to acquire all possible documentation such as X-Rays, medical reports, severity of the injury, billing statements, and the like.
- Gather more evidence. This can include witness testimonies, CCTV footage, and accident reports, if available.
- Compute for claims. How much you will demand to receive will include compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, ongoing costs for therapy, pain & suffering, and many more. This is usually done with the help of a personal injury lawyer.
- File a claim. This is also usually done by a personal injury lawyer and may entail some time to complete due to the number of documents required.
- Negotiate a settlement. This is where the defendant negotiates with you on the actual amount that you will receive based on your requested claims. If a settlement cannot be agreed upon by both parties, then the courts will decide on this through a trial.
- Take note, though, that there is a standard time limit for filing personal injury claims. Under general rules, this limit is set at three years, although some exceptions are also applicable, such as delayed onset of complications caused by the original incident.
Conclusion
Personal injury law protects individuals by providing compensation for injuries as well as other damages caused by others. Navigating the policies that cover personal injury can be difficult for the untrained, though.
For this reason, it is recommended that you seek advice and consult with a personal injury lawyer so that you can properly built your case and so that you can get the compensation that you deserve.