Slip and Fall Injuries | Denes Lawyers | Springfield, Queensland

Slip and fall compensation claims in Queensland

Slip and fall (and trip and fall) accidents commonly occur in shopping centres, footpaths and other public places.

In Queensland, an occupier of a property must take reasonable steps to ensure that the property is safe for people to access and use. This is called duty of care. This includes local councils in respect of public places that they are responsible for, such as parks, footpaths and so on. If your accident happened because the owner of the property (or the local council) did not discharge their duty of care, then you can claim compensation for any loss you have suffered.

Sometimes it is immediately obvious that the property owner was negligent. In other cases, it’s necessary to undertake thorough investigations to determine who is the responsible party. For example, it may not be obvious whether a particular section of the footpath is owned by a shopping centre (i.e. it’s private property) or it is owned by council. Appropriate property searches must be carried out in such a situation.

Free book offer: what to expect in your injury claim

Many firms try to rush you to sign up with them without carefully considering your options. We encourage you to first learn about your personal injury claim. You should ask yourself:

How do you calculate your compensation amount?
How should you choose your lawyer? Do you just choose by firm name regardless of who is really in charge of your matter? Has your lawyer ever argued a case in court?
What is a no win – no fee agreement? How much will it cost?

Our book is available to you free of charge. You don’t have to be a client to receive this book. Head to the order page and we will be happy to send you a copy straight away.

25% cap on legal costs

In all of our personal injury compensation matters, we act on a No Win – No Fee basis. What that means is, there’s no upfront cost to you.

In Queensland, most compensation firms will charge you 50% of your compensation amount – the maximum allowed at law. This is very expensive. Our fee is different. We will cap our fee at 25% . Remember also, these are the maximum fees we will charge. If our fee in your claim is less, then we charge the lesser amount.

Before you engage us, we will provide you a written Disclosure Notice and a Client Service Agreement. These documents set out in detail the service we provide, as well as our fees and outlays. Before you sign anything, you can take these documents home with you, and study them with your family. You can take as long as you need, there is never any pressure from us. If anything in these documents doesn’t make sense to you, we can discuss it with you and you are free to ask another lawyer to give you advice. And remember, no win – no fee agreements come with a 5 day cooling off period for extra peace of mind.

Questions and Answers

Are there any time limits to bring a compensation claim?

Yes, there are strict time limits. Usually you have to notify the proposed defendant within 9 months of the accident that you intend to bring a claim. A court claim must be filed within 3 years. However, keep in mind this is a very simplified version of the rules around time limits. We can provide you more information during our initial consultation.

Do I need a lawyer?

This depends on the severity of your injuries. In some cases, it is simply not worth it to hire a lawyer. If this applies to you, we are still happy to give you information (free of charge) about how you can settle your claim. If you have suffered serious injuries, or if there is even a risk that your injuries might have any impact on your ability to work or engage in your hobbies (now or in the future), then you should hire a lawyer, otherwise the insurance company will short change you.