Owners and managers of public places have a responsibility to make sure the area is safe and free of hazards that could result in injury.
Often referred to as “duty of care,” it essentially means that owners and managers of public spaces have a duty to keep their properties safe.
Many times, however, these public places have hazards that result in personal injuries:
• A wet floor from cleaning or spilled liquids must be clearly marked as to alert people to the possibility of a slip and fall injury.
• Uneven pavement, flooring or walkways may cause an obstruction over which you can trip and fall.
• Items and obstructions left on the floor by the owner or manager can result in a trip and fall injury.
• An injury caused by an uneven or damaged public footpath is the responsibility of the local authority.
An injury suffered in a public place can result in a loss of wages, medical bills and pain and suffering. It is therefore vital that you take action against the appropriate party or parties if you were injured in a public place. Your injury compensation claim will detail your loss of wages, medical bills and pain and suffering.
The following steps should be taken immediately following an injury in a public place:
• Seek medical attention for any injuries you sustained as a result of the injury, even if they are minor.
• Keep detailed notes of the incident and take photographs of the location, as well as the location where the injury took place.
• Obtain the contact information of any potential witnesses to the accident.
• Contact a personal injury lawyer to file a public liability claim. A qualified personal injury lawyer will be able to inform you of your rights and file a claim against the appropriate parties.
The other party’s public liability insurance company will likely negotiate a deal with your personal injury lawyer, or the case may go to trail. It is therefore vital that you gather all pertinent information and documentation immediately following the incident.
If you are reluctant to file a personal injury compensation claim, it is important to remember that the effects of your injury can affect your income, your family, your health and your overall quality of life for years to come.

A personal injury may be best described as any injury which was caused by the negligence of another person, corporation or business.
You may suffer a physical disease, injury or illness or a psychological injury or illness. Personal injuries can result from: an accident, harassment or stress at work, a motor vehicle accident, faulty goods or services, or a hospital or physician treatment, just to name a few.
You may file a personal injury claim if you believe a company, individual or business was responsible for your injuries or illness. A personal injury claim will generally include a claim for compensation to cover your financial losses, future financial losses, and/or your physiological and/or physical injuries.
The following steps should be taken when you feel you suffered a personal injury as a result of someone else’s negligence:
• Immediately inform the police, if necessary. Police reports may be necessary in the case of a motor vehicle accident, for example.
• If you believe a road injury caused your motor vehicle accident, immediately inform your auto insurance company.
• If the injury occurred in the workplace, immediately inform your employer so that the incident or incidents can be recorded and reported to the appropriate state department.
• Immediately seek medical attention from your doctor, even if you feel the injury is minor. You will need these records if you choose to pursue a personal injury claim.
• Keep detailed notes about the injury or injuries, and take photographs, when necessary. If you were injured as a result of a road defect, for example, you will want to take photographs of the defect.
• Contact a personal injury lawyer who will explain your rights and a course of action.
Although personal injury compensation if often hard to calculate in terms of money damages, your personal injury lawyer will take many factors into consideration, including your pain and suffering (also called punitive damages), your loss of wages and your present and future medical bills.
Putting a price on pain and suffering is often a difficult task, although your personal injury attorney will fight for your injury compensation with the other party’s insurance company.

If you were injured as a result of the negligence of another person or company, or if you suffered a work-related injury, would you know where to turn?

Not many of us want to make an injury compensation claim, but the reality is that you should recover what you have lost if were injured as a result of someone else’s negligence. You should consider obtaining legal advice if you:

- Suffered physical and/or mental injuries
- Lost the ability to work because of either a physical or mental disability
- Were permanently injured
- Incurred substantial medical expenses

The bottom line is that you should be able to recover damages if you were involved in an accident which was caused by the negligence of another. Examples of this may include a workplace injury, an accident in a public place or a car accident injury.

Seeking legal advice for an injury enables you to weigh your options and know your rights. You should take the following steps after suffering a personal injury:

- Seek medical attention immediately and ask the doctor to record all pertinent information.
- Make a police report, if necessary.
- Record all pertinent information about the incident as soon as possible.
- Find a qualified attorney who can offer legal advice and file an injury compensation claim.

A qualified attorney will represent your interests, unlike the other party’s insurance company or attorney, who is clearly out to represent the interests of the other party and to settle for the least amount of money as possible.

An attorney that is experienced in workplace injury claims, car accident injury claims or claims regarding accidents in public places will be better equipped to handle your unique circumstance, and should be able to inform you of your rights under the law.

You will lose your legal rights if you don’t know what they are!

If you are involved in a personal or workplace injury, you need to know your options so that you can best determine which plan of action to take.
Remember: Your decisions may forever affect your life and your family’s lives, so it is vital that you obtain legal advice.

Accidents in public places can take on many forms. An accident in a public place may be the result of a trip-and-fall incident or may be the result of a poorly managed and cared for public space.

You may sustain injuries in a public place due to a wet spot or spill that was neglected or not cleaned up in a reasonable amount of time. You may also sustain a personal injury due to uneven walkways, steps or sidewalks.

A slip-and-fall injury, whether it was minor or catastrophic, may enable an individual to collect accident compensation. If the injury was sustained because of the neglect, inaction or actions of the owner of a public place you may be entitled to accident compensation.

Accident compensation may also be possible for no-fault accidents which occur in public spaces and places. Whether you are a visitor or an employee of a public establishment, you may collect damages for injuries you sustained as a result of neglect on the part of the owner of the establishment.

Most people who seek accident compensation do so because of injuries sustained in the accident. Pain and suffering, as well as other injuries, may all be a part of an accident compensation claim.

Accident compensation may also help an individual recover expenses related to the injury, such as medical expenses and lost wages. It may also include both future and present disabilities.

If you sustained an injury in a public place that was not your fault, it is important to contact a qualified injury lawyer who can provide you with advice and guidance regarding your personal injury claim.

If you were the victim of an accident caused by another person’s negligence, action or in action, you may be entitled to receive compensation. In order to collect damages for your personal injury, you will need to obtain the services of a qualified personal injury lawyer.

The first order of business is to locate a personal injury lawyer who has experience representing individuals with similar claims. To find a qualified personal injury lawyer you will need to get referrals through:

• Friends, family and business associates- Perhaps the best way to get a good lawyer referral is by talking with friends and family about their own personal injury claims. Asking others about their personal injury claims is a great way to get referrals, but you should not make a decision regarding a personal injury lawyer based on a friend’s opinion alone. Instead, you should also do your own research, and first talk with the injury lawyer before making a decision.
• Lawyer’s directories and referral services – There are many available directories and services which can offer information on personal injury lawyers in your area. These resources will likely detail the lawyer’s education, fees and experience, as well as their professional affiliations.
• Other lawyers – You can often receive referrals for personal injury lawyers from lawyers in other fields of law. Most lawyers will refer cases to one another, which will facilitate the process of finding a persona injury lawyer.

In addition to getting referrals and educating yourself about a personal injury lawyer, you should also interview the lawyer and become familiar with his or her philosophy, as this can often help you make your decision.

Explaining the Benefits of No Win-No Fee

“No Win-No Fee” is a general agreement between a law firm and a client in which the lawyer agrees to not get paid if he or she does not win the case.

No win-no fee was originally developed to help individuals obtain legal representation, regardless of their ability to pay. Many injured people, for example, simply can not work, which means they would be unable to afford legal representation. No win-no fee protects them and gives them the opportunity to obtain the services of a lawyer who will, in turn, receive no injury compensation unless the case is won.

Many of the no win-no fee arrangements in Australia include a “success fee,” meaning that the law firm is entitled to additional monies.
Most personal injuries claims are taken on a no win-no fee basis, including medical malpractice, auto accident injuries, worker’s compensation and public liability. Other types of law, such as employment or commercial litigation law, may not be covered under the no win-no fee umbrella.

A personal injury lawyer will likely represent an individual in a no win-no fee case if there is legal merit for the case and the lawyer feels confident that he or she has a good chance of winning the case and recovering damages for his or her client. In that instance, a no win-no fee case is beneficial for both the lawyer and the client.

How Lawyers and Insurance Companies Determine Compensation for Personal Injury Claims

In addition to representing you for your personal injury claim, your lawyer must determine how much your injuries are worth. This is almost always determined on a case-by-case basis, as there are many factors that come into play for any personal injury case.

The following factors and circumstance help insurance companies and lawyers determine damages for personal injury claims:

• Medical expenses and related expenses, such as co-pays, deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses
• Lost wages as result of not being able to work (This may include time lost at work due to rehabilitative treatment)
• Any permanent, physical disability or disfigurement
• Emotional damages, including depression, anxiety and stress
• Property damages
• Any loss of a productive lifestyle (i.e., not being able to enjoy family, friends and social situations once enjoyed)

One of the trickiest areas in which an individual may seek compensation as a result of a personal injury is pain and suffering. Pain and suffering, because it is difficult to place a dollar amount on, is often figured out with simple formulas.

The first thing taken into consideration when figuring out pain and suffering compensation is the total medical expenses related to the personal injury. Depending on the severity of the injury, pain and suffering can be calculated by multiplying medical expenses by two or as high as five. The total loss of income is then added to the figure to determine the total compensation to be rewarded to the victim of personal injury.

A personal injury lawyer is essential if you’re unfortunate enough to suffer an accident causing you physical or psychological injury. Using a specialist personal injury lawyer to help with the compensation claim will increase your success in seeking damages. Common personal injuries compensation covers include public place injuries such as slip and fall injuries.

If you are injured then first and foremost see a doctor to ensure you are well looked after. You can use this opportunity to get an initial medical report from the doctor and then start compiling the events leading to your injury. Prior to lodging a claim, write down your account of events while still fresh in your memory. Take photos, record dates and gather details from witnesses to the circumstances in which you were injured.

A compensation payout for injury sustained in a slip and fall accident can be vital in helping pay medical costs, reimbursing lost income, compensating for pain and suffering, as well as covering expenses of home help or home based care.

The right personal injury lawyer or accident lawyer and sound legal advice is crucial to succeed in a compensation claim. Personal injury cases require a legal expert and you should know that you’re entitled to the lawyer of your choice to represent your compensation claim. To select an appropriate lawyer and receive the best legal advice and counsel, here are several things to consider.

Firstly, check that the personal injury lawyer is a specialist in that field by weighing up their background experience working as an accident lawyer on applicable cases. It may seem logical, but many people mistakenly believe that any lawyer can represent them. Next, inquire about costs involved in the case. Clarify whether the personal injury lawyers will claim their fees from the opposing party and include this in a fee agreement with your accident lawyer. Additionally you may wish to check the rate and payment of out of pocket expenses, adding what you’ve negotiated to you agreement with your lawyer.

Another key point is how you wish to pursue your claim for compensation. Do you think this is a matter for settlement in court or outside the courtroom? Be sure to discuss this with your lawyer and identify the best option for both your wishes and for the case. If you think your solicitor is not acting for your interests say so, but also be open to their advice on the best way to proceed. Finally discuss whether your case will be a ‘no win, no charge’ case. Costs for this injury compensation claims can add up quickly, so be sure you clarify how the costs will be paid if your compensation claim is unsuccessful.

To be successful in your personal injury compensation claim ensure you take steps to get the necessary medical attention, recording the injury events thoroughly and select a personal injury lawyer carefully. The success your compensation claim for a personal slip and fall injury will rely heavily upon these specific elements, so proceed wisely and you’ll make a stronger claim following the accident.