If you have been injured, due to someone else’s fault, I can seek compensation for you. It won’t take away your pain, but it will remove the financial stress and help you to get your life back on track.
I look after the legal aspects for you. That way you can concentrate on getting well again. I will involve you in every aspect of your case so you know what is happening with your claim and understand the process, making it as stress free as possible for you.
Having worked with a large personal injury compensation firm for 16 years, I now work for myself. Thus you will be personally dealing with me and not with a junior lawyer or a number of different lawyers, which can happen in the larger firms. I, as the senior lawyer will work with you from the beginning to the end of your claim. In this way I intimately know you and your case.
I have successfully negotiated numerous cases with insurers and also successfully ran cases in the Courts when the right settlement could not be achieved by way of negotiation.
I started out my professional life as a nurse and thus understand the medical issues that will be a large part of your claim. I am also a wife and a mother of 3 children and thus know the work involved in running a home and how being injured not only interrupts you life but also the lives of your loved ones. This information is highly relevant when deciding what compensation you are entitled to.
Thus if you think you may have a public liability claim please contact me for a no obligation free consultation either on 02 9252 8824 or on email: mary@mtmlegal.com.au
It is best to seek advise as soon as possible after your injury so there is time to fully investigate and prepare your case before your case would has to be lodged with the Court. (Note – Cases must be lodged with Court prior to the 3rd year anniversary from the date of injury.)
In very limited circumstances cases may be allowed to be commenced outside the 3-year period.
If you have suffered personal injury in a public area such as on a street, a carpark, in a shopping centre or shop and if that injury is due to the negligence (fault) of another you may be entitled to bring a personal injury compensation claim.
Typical examples of such claims are slip and falls in supermarkets, trips on streets, attacks by dogs either in a public place or someone else’s house, injury in a rental property. It also includes sexual abuse claims, injuries in the school environment, injury from playing sport.
A claim is started by sending what is referred to as a Letter of Demand to the person or business considered at fault.
Generally that letter is passed to the person or business’ public liability insurer.
Once your injury is stabilised and the evidence is gathered to prove the loss you have suffered, I prepare a schedule of the compensation you are entitled to claim based on the evidence gathered. I discuss the schedule with you and once we are both satisfied with the schedule it is sent to the insurer as an opening offer.
The insurer will either agree to negotiate with you to see if your claim can be resolved or alternatively may ignore the offer.
If the insurer is not willing to negotiate with you, the only way to move your case forward is by lodging your claim with the court (either the District or Supreme Court).
Court proceedings have to be lodged with the Court within 3-years of the date of your injury.
The compensation you are entitled to receive will depend on your individual circumstances, including the extent of your injury, whether you lost wages due to your injury, whether you needed and will need on going assistance because of your injury and the extend of medical treatment required due to your injury.
Because each case is different I take a detailed history from you at the beginning of your case so I understand how the injury has affected your life and thus what compensation you are entitled to claim. I get intermittent updates from you about your situation during the life of your claim.
With your permission I also obtain details from family, friends and work colleagues as to how the accident has affected you. Such evidence is very persuasive and helpful in getting the best outcome for your case.
This will depend on your recovery. As you can only make one claim for a particular accident, it is important to fully understand the fully extend of your injury and its effect on your future life before the claim is finalised. Thus it is recommended that your claim is not finalised until your injury has stabilised.
Each case is different but as a general rule, most injuries are considered stabilised at about 12 months post injury. Once your injury is stabilised I arrange for you to be seen by a doctor to give an opinion on your injury. The doctor I sent you to will depend on your injury. Sometimes I will arrange for you to been seen by more than one doctor and other health professionals. Whilst waiting for your injury to stabilise I gather the evidence needed to prove your loss and the compensation you are entitled to, such as tax returns, evidence from your employer, educational records etc.
As a general rule most cases finish 15 to 24 months post injury. About 80% to 90% of cases are settled by way of negotiation with the insurer.
The legal costs consist of two components:
– The Professional Costs for the work I do in running your case. The insurer has to pay a proportion of those costs. You do not have to pay my professional costs until you receive compensation from your case. If you don’t receive compensation I don’t seek the payment of my costs – this is referred to as a conditional cost agreement or a no win no fee agreement.
In the event your case goes to court and you lose the case, the court would order you to pay a proportion of the insurer’s legal costs. I provide advise to you in relation to whether you should take your case to court.
– Disbursements. This refers to money spent on obtaining the evidence, for example medical records and reports, engineer’s reports, accountant’s reports and also expenses incurred in photocopying/printing/phone and faxes. If you can pay the disbursements as they are incurred, particularly for medical reports you will avoid incurring overdraft interest. If you win your case the insurer will have to reimburse you for a percentage of the disbursements incurred. Unless you elect to pay the disbursements as they are incurred, the disbursements also do not become payable until you receive compensation.
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Prefer to chat, call us on 02 9252 8824