Start with Pre-Court Claim
Slips, trips and falls or other types of accidents are often covered by public liability. Whether you have slipped on a spill, tripped on a footpath or fallen on a staircase with variable height steps, you may be entitled to personal injury compensation. Claims in Queensland for personal injury that are not against a motor accident CTP insurer or your employer are regulated by the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld) (PIPA) and are known as PIPA claims.
Additional Compensation for Workers
Workers who were injured by someone other than their employer while they were working on the clock often have special compensation entitlements more generous than what they could recover from the workers’ compensation insurer alone. A PIPA claim may need to be added to your legal case to ensure full compensation recovery.
Capture the Evidence
If you have been injured and may have a public liability claim, we recommend you take photos of the hazard that caused the accident. Sometimes it helps if something is placed in the photo for scale. For example, if you tripped on an uneven footpath, placing a coin against the lip allows the photo to be evidence of the height of the trip hazard. Reporting the the hazard is the right thing to do so that the person responsible can repair it quickly and avoid someone else being hurt. However, this makes it particularly important to capture evidence of the hazard that caused the injury as soon as possible, before the hazard is removed and evidence lost.
Do Not Delay
The same applies to CCTV evidence, as it may be recorded over or deleted after a certain period. This makes it essential that you not delay in starting your claim. The PIPA allows you, once a formal, compliant claim has commenced, to compel the defendant to hand over relevant evidence (which may include CCTV footage).