Accident Injury Compensation

Know all your rights and options

Compensation awarded for suffering a personal injury at work, on the road or in a public place may be available to you, however, the extent and severity of injury will impact on the level of compensation you will get.

Compensation entitlements may include expenses that relate to medical treatment, travel, rehabilitation and if you have a permanent impairment you may be offered a lump sum payment.

If you have been seriously impaired as a result of your injury and are unable to return to work or your normal way of life, you ought to be entitled to a sufficient level of compensation that may help you re-build a new life for yourself as you adjust to your new circumstances. This is awarded in the form of a lump sum payment. If you are offered a lump sum payment it’s very important to seek free legal advice from a personal injury lawyer who can advise you to either accept; or process a common law claim (where applicable).

The other major factor that will impact on the level of compensation you will receive is if there has been any negligence involved that caused the accident or injury. If there has been negligence by an employer or fellow employee you may be entitled make a separate common law claim. This type of claim may compensate you for future economic losses for example future loss of earnings or futures costs as a result of the injury you sustained.  

In order to persue a common law claim in some States or Territories you must never have received the lump sum payment. This is why it is important to check with a personal injury lawyer first, before accepting the lump sum.  

The bottom line is if your injury has caused a permanent impairment and there was negligence involved you are likely to be entitled to a common law claim which will compensate you much more as it takes into account your future economic losses as a result of your injury.  This type of claim is usually worth far much more than a lump sum payment and will compensate you far more sufficiently.  

Accidents and injuries can have a great impact on your life. In addition to the physical aspects of injury, an injury may affect you psychologically and most likely financially, especially if you have a family that depend on you and are the main income earner.

The last thing you need after suffering an injury is any additional financial stresses arising as a result of your inability to return to work. The purpose of compensation is to help you rehabilitate and potentially assist you in getting your life back to how it was before you suffered the injury as much as you can. This is not always possible but nonetheless compensation may help you adjust to your new circumstances. You may have to make many major changes in your life and need to be prepared as much as you possibly can.

A personal injury lawyer can provide you with much needed advice if you don’t know where to turn or what to do when you are experiencing the unfortunate circumstances of suffering an injury.  

After having an accident or suffering an injury it is advisable to get some professional legal advice from a personal injury lawyer. Many personal injury lawyers offer free legal advice or an initial free consultation. They can ascertain early on if you have a good claim or what your claim might be worth to you. You can find out all your rights and entitlements and by finding these out, you can be in a much better position.

Before accepting any offer of compensation it is wise to seek free legal advice first. If you are offered compensation by an insurer, the only way to know if it an amount is acceptable is to get the appropriate advice from a lawyer. Once an offer is accepted there may be no going back and you may be prevented from making any further claims such as a common law claim.