Personal Injury Lawyers Perth

Public liability claims

Owners and occupiers of premises or land owe members of the public and customers a duty of care. They must take reasonable steps to ensure your safety. If you have been injured or suffered loss because an owner or occupier failed to take reasonable care, you may be entitled to claim compensation and damages.

Examples include:

• a slip and fall in a supermarket or other public place;
• a dog attack;
• a sporting or recreational injury caused by another's negligence; and
• injuries caused by damaged footpaths or potholes in public places.

Whether you have a claim comes down to what reasonable care looked like in the circumstances, which is rarely obvious from the outside. If you are unsure, that is what a first conversation is for.

If your injury happened at work, a workers' compensation claim is usually the starting point instead.

Medical negligence

Doctors, hospitals and other health professionals owe their patients a duty of care. If you have sustained an injury, or your condition has deteriorated, because of a health professional's negligence, you may be entitled to pursue a medical negligence claim.

These claims are built on medical evidence, and assembling it takes time. Getting advice early gives us the best chance of obtaining your records and reports while they are complete and easy to access.

What you can claim for

Depending on the claim you bring, you may be able to claim for:

• pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life;
• past and future loss of income and superannuation;
• past and future medical expenses, including psychological treatment;
• the provision of care, home services and assistance; and
• incidental expenses such as travel and parking.

Claims of this kind can be run on a no win no fee* basis, subject to an assessment of your claim.

Abuse claims

In 2018, Western Australia passed laws removing the limitation periods that previously applied to civil claims for child sexual abuse. Survivors can now bring a claim for damages no matter how long ago the abuse occurred.

Claims can be brought against institutions – such as churches, schools and other organisations – as well as against individual perpetrators. If you previously settled a claim or received a judgment, the court can set aside that earlier settlement or judgment in appropriate circumstances, allowing the claim to be pursued again.

The law here continues to develop, including proposed further WA reforms concerning the liability of institutions. Every survivor's circumstances are different, so advice should be sought about your individual situation.

All enquiries are treated sensitively and confidentially. You decide what you tell us and when, and nothing moves forward without your say-so.

Criminal injuries compensation

If you have been injured as a result of a criminal offence in Western Australia, you may be entitled to compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 2003 (WA). The same applies if you are a close relative of someone who was killed in the commission of an offence.

This scheme has its own limits and process:

• up to $75,000 per offence for offences committed on or after 1 January 2007;
• lower maximums apply to offences committed before that date;
• applications must generally be lodged within 3 years of the offence; and
• the Assessor has a discretion to accept late applications.