Public Liability
Lawyers

Your entitlement to compensation depends on the severity of your injury, and whether it occurred as a result of the fault of another person or entity in a publicly accessible place.

You may be entitled to compensation for your pain and suffering depending on the injuries you have sustained. The amount of compensation you are entitled to receive for your financial losses is intended to restore you to the financial position you would be in if the accident did not occur.

You may be entitled to claim:

General Damages / Non-Economic Loss – pain, suffering and loss of amenity

The nature of the injury, the estimated recovery period and the rehabilitation required – and whether a further medical treatment or even lifelong care is needed – will be assessed accordingly.

Special Damages/Financial losses resulting from the accident – to cover medical fees, loss of salary, and out-of-pocket expenses

Costs for medical care (such as Physiotherapy), loss of income, and hospital travel costs may be claimed as part of your expenses. Expenses for ongoing care, loss of future income, or home adaptations required as a result of the injury are additional expenses a person may claim.

You will only be compensated once your injury is considered permanent and stable, which is generally one year from when the injury occurred. After approximately one year from the date of your injury we will pay for you to be assessed by doctors who will make an assessment as to the permanency and stability of your injury.

Depending on the severity of your injuries, you may also be able to make a claim for a lump sum payment for pain and suffering. You will also have to establish that your injury occurred due to the negligence of another entity. We will advise you as to whether or not negligence can be established in your case.

You have three (3) years from the date of injury to commence a proceeding in public liability. If you are not sure if you would like to pursue a claim, continue to attend your doctor and hospital appointments and re-evaluate your decision once you have received some treatment and have a better idea of your prognosis.

Zaparas Lawyers operates on a ‘No Win, No Fee’ basis. This means that in the unlikely event that we don’t succeed in securing compensation for you, we will not change you for any of our professional fees.

You should bring all relevant documentation you have such as medical reports, radiological investigations and any other documents that may be relevant. If you have photographs of the place where you were injured these are also beneficial. If possible, these photographs should be taken close to your date of injury, especially when an accident has occurred on a footpath or other public area as the area may be repaired by the time you attend our office for an appointment.

Our firm has a diverse and multicultural team comprising lawyers and law clerks who speak different languages including Greek, Cantonese, Mandarin, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Turkish and Singhalese. We also have a network of the very best interpreters who can attend interviews and appointments.

We will keep you fully informed at every stage of the case. Many public liability compensation matters are settled out-of-court – Zaparas Lawyers personal injury lawyers negotiate hard to get the best settlement for you.

But if a court hearing is necessary, we instruct experienced barristers who specialise in personal injury cases, to make sure you have the best legal representation possible.

The Zaparas Lawyers team has handled a vast array of public liability claims, motor vehicle accident claims and workplace accident claims. Our team has the skills and experience you need to succeed in your case and ensure get the full compensation you deserve.

Our experienced public liability lawyers have handled all kinds of injuries that have been sustained in a wide range of different accidents circumstances. Don’t delay, contact us today and we’ll connect you with a friendly and knowledgeable legal professional with extensive experience in cases just like yours.

If we don’t have a lawyer who can speak your language, we also have access to a wide network of professional interpreters, meaning we’re here to help you every step of the way in a language that you understand.

WorkCover statutory benefits compensation is generally only available to workers. This means volunteers are not entitled to WorkCover compensation unless they are deemed a worker under an Act of Parliament.

If you are a volunteer or someone who assists a government agency in accordance with one of the below Acts of Parliament and are injured whilst carrying out relevant duties then you will be entitled to statutory WorkCover compensation:

• Country Fire Authority Act 1958 (casual fire fighters, including volunteer officers and members and volunteer auxiliary workers)
• Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (volunteer school workers or volunteer student workers)
• Emergency Management Act 1986 (volunteer emergency workers)
• Juries Act 2000 (jurors)
• Police Assistance Compensation Act 1968 (PAC Act) ( volunteers assisting police officers)
• Victoria State Emergency Services Act 2005 (voluntary registered and probationary members of the Victoria SES)

Volunteers in prisons and offenders working or participating in a program under a Correctional Order are deemed workers employed by the Crown and thereby entitled to statutory WorkCover compensation.