What is a Schedule of Damages, and Do I need one?

Revolution Law2022-10-31T16:49:28+10:0031/10/2022|General, Injury|

What is a Schedule of Damages, and Do I need one?

Recently the Legally Kids Team created an absolute blockbuster of a movie about Schedule of Damages. Check it out and hit follow and subscribe on our social media for more great content. Read on if you’d like to learn more about a Schedule of Damages.

You may be asking, what is the Schedule of Damages? And how does it relate to a Personal Injury Claim?

A compensation claim starts when you have suffered an injury from an accident due to negligence from another party and suffered a resulting loss.

As the claim progresses, the lawyer will ask questions and discuss with you how the accident and resulting injury has impacted your lifestyle and ability to work and play.

Your Revolution Lawyer will take into account many factors, such as;

– pre-accident hobbies & sports

– any monetary loss incurred

– your employment

– earnings

– what your future may have looked like without the injury.

We listen to your story and document it all with precision and sensitivity.

It takes time and resources to gather all the evidence required to establish the claim. Still, our team highly specialises with years of experience understanding Personal Injury Claims requirements.

When your injuries have stabilised, your lawyer will present the collected evidence outlining the loss you have suffered. Skilled lawyers quantify that loss into a financial document which is known as the ‘Schedule of Damages’

It will detail:

General Damages. Loss which came about as a result of pain, disability or disfigurement. They are the damages that are not capable of precise calculation. It is compensation for the loss of your quality of life.
Pecuniary Loss. This is the total out-of-pocket expenses you have paid out. It might include medical and rehabilitation costs, medications, and the cost of care and support services you have needed for yourself and your home in your journey towards health after the injuries.
Income Loss This is the economic loss you have had since the injury to the date of settlement and potentially any economic loss into the future. It will also include superannuation.

Out simply, the Schedule of Damages is all your losses calculated and measured in dollars. This, with the documented proof, is used as part of your compensation claim to obtain compensation for the injury.

Compensation is meant to put you in the position you should have been in if you had not been injured.

If you have suffered an accident on the roads or an injury at work don’t hesitate to call us. We will organise a free, no-obligation consultation with one of our lawyers. Contact us at info@revolutionlaw.com.au or phone 07 3416 4999. And don’t be alarmed – our Legally Kids ‘Malicat’ will not be preparing your Schedule of Damages!

Personal Injury Claims: Expectations vs Reality Ticking the Right Boxes

Revolution Law2022-07-20T09:37:41+10:0017/06/2022|Injury|

Personal Injury Claims: Expectations vs Reality

True Story. It was bucketing rain with flooding everywhere, saturating the ground and overflowing the rivers. A phone call comes into our office. A young person has just purchased takeaway food at a local Multinational Fast Food Outlet. She walked outside, slipped on the wet path, and fell, hurting her wrist. She rang us hoping for a significant compensation payout.

We asked the questions to tick the boxes:

Have you been to the doctor or hospital?
Are you employed, and will this injury stop you from working?
Will this injury impact your life long-term?
Was there anything that this place could have done to prevent your accident?
The accident has happened anywhere in Queensland.

In this particular personal injury claim she had not seen a doctor (and did not intend to). She was unemployed, so the sore wrist would not impact income earnings. And with the heavy rain falling over the suburb, causing wet surfaces everywhere, there was nothing the Fast Food Giant could have done to prevent the fall.

To make any personal injury claims

There must be an insurer of the premises or facility you had the accident at.
There needs to be fault by the owners or occupiers of the premises. They should have / could have done something reasonable or within their duties to prevent your accident.
The injury has caused loss to you. It might be a loss of wages, employment or lifestyle.

We are not the lawyer for you if you want to scam an insurance company.

But we know accidents happen, and if they do, we can step in and advocate for you whilst you return to the best version of yourself. Some injuries cause permanent damage, and other injuries can eventually repair with surgery, medication, physiotherapy, counselling and other treatments over time. Whatever type of injury you have had, we are in this for the long haul with you and for you.

If you have had an accident, give us a ring, and we will chat. There are time limitations in making a personal injury claim so don’t hesitate too long!

Time limitations on injury compensation claims

Revolution Law2022-07-20T09:40:39+10:0020/04/2022|Injury, Uncategorized|

Time Limitations On Injury Compensation Claims

What are the time limitations on injury compensation claims? and what are you entitled to? This blog answers these questions and supplies you with general information surrounding the injury claim process.

The injuries you suffer can have a dramatic effect on your life. Personal injuries have the potential to impact your family, work and burden you with large medical expenses. The good news is that you may be entitled to make a personal injury claim against the person or organisation responsible for your injury.

When you make a claim for an injury that occurs at work, in public or while driving, you can seek money to cover the value of your damages. In most cases, this means you can claim compensation for things like medical expenses and lost wages, but in cases of severe injury, you may also be able to claim damages to cover undue psychological suffering. The severity of your injury and the setting where it occurs will have an impact on the claim you can make, especially in the form of time limits.

Workers’ Compensation Claims Time Limits

If you are injured at work, then you may lodge a claim with WorkCover Queensland within 6 months of the injury occurring. Queensland’s Workers’ Compensation system has a ‘no fault’ scheme that means you are entitled to apply for compensation, regardless of who caused your injury. The 6-month time limit may be waived by WorkCover in special circumstances, such as:

Where a WorkCover medical tribunal decides that your case involves special circumstances of a medical nature.
Where WorkCover is satisfied that your failure to lodge a claim was due to a mistake, your absence from Queensland or for some other reasonable cause.

Public Liability Claims Time Limits

When your injury occurs in a public place and is due to someone else’s negligence, you must lodge and resolve your public liability claim within 3 years of the injury occurring. Despite the name, public liability claims also cover injuries that occur in private places, such as at sporting fields and shopping centres. Public liability claims are often lodged for the typical slips and falls but may also cover more unusual injuries such as food poisoning.

The most common types of public liability claims in Queensland include:

Injuries at parks, leisure centres or other public places
Injuries at rental properties
Injuries on private properties such as shopping centres
Injuries at schools and universities

Proving your public liability claim will usually include showing that the owner of a property owed you a duty of care and that they failed to meet an appropriate standard of care.

Motor Vehicle Claims Time Limits

Car accidents are an unfortunate reality of driving on Brisbane’s roads. If you are injured in a car accident, you can claim a personal injury within 3 years of sustaining the injury. Due to the severity of car accidents, it is important to seek legal advice as soon as possible. Minor injuries can worsen significantly over time, and if you miss the 3-year window to lodge your claim, you may not be able to claim any damages at all. Some types of injury also have much shorter limitations placed on them, so speak to your Revolution Lawyer as soon as possible.

What Happens if I Miss the Time Limit on a Claim?

Depending on where and how your injury occurred, you may still be able to make a claim after the nominal time limit has expired. These extensions are usually only granted in exceptional circumstances and are at the full discretion of the court. If you suffer a personal injury at work, in public, while driving your car, or at any other time, it is important you seek legal advice as soon as possible.

Do You Have a Personal Injury Claim? Revolution Law Can Help

Injuries can have a major impact, but lodging a personal injury claim can help you manage the difficulties and keep your life on track. Due to the complex nature of personal injury matters, it is important that you seek legal advice as soon as you can. Any claims you need to make will be subject to a time limit, and courts are not always able to grant extensions if the limit has expired.

Speak to Revolution Law about any work-related or personal injuries, and let our team provide the help and support you need. We will assess your case and determine whether you have a viable claim, and then walk you through the process of correctly recording and lodging your claim. Get in touch with us today and let your Revolution Lawyer help you work towards the best possible outcome for your situation.

How To Review A Personal Injury Lawyer

Revolution Law2022-06-28T17:56:30+10:0022/09/2016|General, Injury, Tips & Tricks|

How To Review A Personal Injury Lawyer

Personal injury lawyers are not only expert injury lawyers; they are also brilliant sales representatives for their firms. When you meet with a lawyer, it’s important to be able to see through all the fancy fluff and legal lingo to make sure you will not only to get the best deal but also the best service. If you are looking for the best reviews of personal injury lawyers then you will need these three top tips to help in your search.

1. Shop Around

There are plenty of personal injury law firms. Big brand firms can easily spend hundreds of thousands a year on advertising. With so many claims opening these firms can become like legal sweat shops as lawyers have such huge caseloads. Obviously with so much pressure, those lawyers are often in a position where they need to get quick results without taking the time to get the best results. You certainly don’t want a lawyer that will churn and burn through your claim, particularly if you have what they may term as ‘a lower end’ or ‘minor’ claim that won’t necessarily result in serious profit for the law firm. It’s important that you find a lawyer that genuinely cares. Furthermore, it definitely helps when a firm relies on word of mouth to retain clients as opposed to marketing because then you know that the firm is going above and beyond to ensure their clients have the best legal experience.

2. Take advantage of the free meeting

Remember lawyers are excellent at sales, so be wary. It’s a good idea to have a support person with you in the meeting as you will be inundated with information and then pressured to sign paperwork. You do not have to sign right there as you should be advised to obtain independent advice regarding the client agreement however if you do, the client agreement should contain a cooling off period of five business days. Make sure you understand the terminology the lawyers will be using, if you don’t then ask the lawyer to explain exactly what they mean. Many of the online reviews about law firms are often a result of clients not understanding what was going to happen until it was all said and done – that’s one way to feel like you have been taken advantage of. Client meetings are also a great opportunity to get to know your Lawyer. Some great questions to ask your Lawyer would include:

How many files are they personally handing?
Will you be able to contact them directly via either text or phone?
How they will be providing you with updates and at what frequency you will be receiving them?
What type of experience in this area of law have they had?

3. Know the costs

It is important for you to understand the actual costs of your claim. Lawyers are entitled to uplift their fees by up to 25 % of their normal hourly rates if they reach a successful outcome. It isn’t hard to believe that a lawyer would not take on your case unless they were confident with its potential success so avoid a firm that wants to chew into your settlement via the uplift fee clause. At Revolution Law- there is no uplift.

We will take you through a fee disclosure to ensure you are not blindsided by costs. Personal injury law firms also have to cap their fees at 50% of the total settlement amount. This does not mean we will take 50% of your settlement, it just means in low-end claims which may only settle for 30 thousand, we would be capped at 15 thousand dollars for legal fees. To settle a claim takes 12-18 months and easily 100 plus hours of legal work. This 50% cap simply protects people from losing all their money in legal fees.

Obviously, this might make you question if you should get a personal injury lawyer for a low-end claim. This is when you take advantage of our free consultation. We will look at how viable your claim is and you can question us on whether it’s worth running yourself. We will have no hesitation in reviewing and determining this for you.

It’s a daunting experience particularly after a life-altering event such as an accident.

We wish you the best in your search for a personal injury lawyer and remember, personal injury lawyers aren’t all that bad if you find one will to go above and beyond!

If you have any queries or need for a second opinion, then call and chat to one of the Revolution Law lawyers today.

What is a Schedule of Damages, and Do I need one?

Personal Injury Claims: Expectations vs Reality

Time Limitations On Injury Compensation Claims

Workers’ Compensation Claims Time Limits

Public Liability Claims Time Limits

Motor Vehicle Claims Time Limits

What Happens if I Miss the Time Limit on a Claim?

Do You Have a Personal Injury Claim? Revolution Law Can Help

How To Review A Personal Injury Lawyer

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ASK ABOUT YOUR CLAIM TODAY

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email

closest office

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