Serious injuries can significantly impact your daily life and ability to work. We work to ensure you are well protected against any impairments that arise from personal injury or dependency, ensuring you receive fair and accurate compensation for your situation.
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If you have suffered a personal injury, it is critical to seek legal advice in relation to the question of liability and your entitlement to compensation for your loss.
This is likely to include ongoing medical costs, loss of working ability and reduced quality of life. Serious injuries can also entail expensive necessities such as assistance around the home and property adjustments to accommodate physical disabilities.
The Civil Liability Act 1936 sets out the relevant legislative provisions for personal injury claims. For personal injuries arising from a motor vehicle accident, provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act 1959 also applies.
The main types of damages that may be claimed in personal injury cases include:
This head of damage addresses the effect of your injury on your earning capacity. This includes both past loss of earnings (calculated from a week after the injury until settlement or judgment) and future loss of earnings.
Non-economic loss is a broad head of damage encompassing pain and suffering, loss of amenities of life and loss of expectation of life or disfigurement. The Act requires that an Injury Scale Value (ISV) be ascribed and used to calculate damages for non-economic loss.
Damages may also be claimed in respect of:
The limitation period for personal injury claims is 3 years. This means that proceedings must be issued within 3 years of the cause of action arising. Typically, this 3 year period commences from the date of the accident. If an injury remains latent, the 3 years period may be taken to commence from the date that the injury became known. If proceedings are not brought within this limitation period, any claim will thereafter be statute barred.
It is also important to note that the claimant, referred to as the applicant, bears the burden of proving their cause of action on the balance of probabilities. There are adverse cost implications for unsuccessful claims. It is therefore critical to consult an experienced personal injury lawyer as to the merit of your claim and any potential issues surrounding liability.
How we can help you
We can assist you to deal with CTP Insurers and guide you through each stage, from filing your CTP Injury Claim form to issuing proceedings, pre-action negotiations and issuing proceedings.
Losing a loved one is hard enough without having to worry about the implications for your financial future. We can provide advice and support in relation to your dependency claim.
If you have suffered an injury due the dangerous state of a premises, arrange an appointment with one of our solicitors to seek further advice about your prospects of a successful personal injury claim.
Sustaining an injury and being suddenly unable to work is often frustrating and upsetting. We can provide you with advice in relation to your entitlements under the Return to Work SA scheme and also assess whether you may have an additional common law claim.
The first step in a motor vehicle accident claim is lodging an Injury Claim Form with the relevant Compulsory Third Party Insurer.
This form provides notice to the insurer and details the circumstances of the accident, the injured person, the injuries and other information.
To protect your interests and prevent any unforeseen issues, it is essential to obtain legal advice at the outset and prior to completing this form.
It is important to note that strict time limits apply.
You must lodge your injury claim form within 6 months of the injury.
For compensation relating to injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident, certain damages, including economic loss, are subject to prescribed limits and reductions.
If you are a dependent of a person who has passed away in a motor vehicle accident, section 23 of the Act allows for an action to be maintained and damages recovered for the benefit of you and any other dependents.
A dependent will include a spouse, domestic partner, parent, brother, sister and child of the person whose death was wrongfully caused.
Dependency claims are to be brought in the name of the Executor of the Estate. If, however, there is no Executor or the Executor does not commence an action within 6 months, then an action may be brought by a dependent (for the benefit of all dependents).
In a dependency claim, damages may be recovered for:
Loss of financial support
This will be subject to prescribed limits and reductions.
Loss of consortium
Loss of consortium compensates a spouse or domestic partner for the loss of the relationship. This includes loss of companionship and loss of domestic services.
Compensable expenses
Compensable expenses include funeral expenses and counselling treatment. It is therefore important to keep a record of these costs, including receipts.
Solatium
Section 29 of the Act provides that a surviving spouse or domestic partner is entitled to an additional sum not exceeding $10,000.00 by way of solatium.
If you have suffered an injury as a result of the dangerous state or condition of premises, section 20 of the Act allows you to make a personal injury claim against the occupier of the premises. This kind of claim is known as occupiers liability and is based on the principles of negligence.
To succeed in this type of personal injury claim, the applicant must prove on the balance of probabilities that their injuries were caused by the occupier’s negligence.
There are several factors that the court will take into account in determining the standard of care to be exercised by the occupier of the premises, including:
If you have an injury that arose from your employment, you may be eligible to obtain compensation by way of an:
Injuries include physical injuries, mental injuries, disease and aggravation of a prior physical or mental injury.
An injured person is required to give notice of their injury to their employer as soon as practicable.
For workers compensation under the Return to Work scheme, your claim must be commenced within 6 months of the injury arising or being diagnosed.
The Return to Work scheme provides for:
If your injury was caused by your employer’s negligence, you may also have a personal injury claim under the Civil Liability Act 1936 and be entitled to compensation.
Personal injury compensation claims are complex. It is essential that you obtain appropriate legal advice and representation.
Speak to BTD Lawyers today about your personal injury matter to ensure that you are properly compensated for all aspects of your loss.
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