Public liability law in Queensland is in place to protect your right to be safe when you are in public. Individuals, businesses and corporations are charged with a duty of care to ensure the safety of their patrons or people who could reasonably be foreseen to come on their property. This also spreads across private and publicly owned spaces that can include sporting fields, parks, gardens footpaths as well as commercial properties. Any person that contributes to an incident may also be legally liable which is why businesses and others who own or occupy the property are required by law to carry public liability insurance. Therefore, the majority of compensation claims are mostly directed at insurance companies.
Public Liability law covers a myriad of possible circumstances in which a person suffers injury or death in a public domain as a result of another person or company’s negligence or failure to take responsible care. Essentially, if an accident occurs on public property, then it is a public liability case.
Some of the most common types of public liability claims include:
- Accidents in parks, community sports centres or public
- Accidents in rental properties
- Accidents in shopping centres or gyms
- Dog attacks and horse-riding accidents
- Schoolyard accidents
What do I have to prove to claim compensation?
In order to make a successful claim for compensation in Queensland you must be able to prove 3 key points:
- That the person or company at fault owed a duty of care e. they had an obligation to take reasonable measures to prevent you from harm;
- The person or company failed to take this duty of care; and
- As a result of the failure to take the duty of care, you were hurt or suffered
How much will I get paid and who will pay it?
When determining who will pay for the damages under Queensland Law in most cases it is the insurance company of the person or business at fault that pays the compensation. Determining how much you will get paid will depend on various factors, including:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Past and future loss of earnings
- The severity of the injury
- Your age
Once all of the evidence is gathered, compensation can then be calculated.
How long do I have to make a claim?
Under Queensland law, a claim generally needs to be lodged within 3 years of the date of the incident that resulted in injury.
For more information on public liability claims, get in touch with the team at Cairns Compensation Lawyers.