If you’ve been injured in an accident, you may be entitled to compensation for your losses, including medical expenses, lost income, and pain and suffering.
Whilst you’re entitled to bring your claim for personal injuries without any representation, it is usually a terrible idea to do so. Roche Legal regularly receives phone calls from individuals who represented themselves but are not happy with a sub-par settlement offer they accepted, not knowing better at the time.
The cost of going it alone: a real example
For example, in 2022, we received a call where a victim of a motor vehicle accident accepted a settlement of approximately $75,000 for a serious injury to his ankle and shoulder. Upon our review, we believed the claim was worth around $550,000 if it was conducted with proper legal representation.
Unfortunately, the settlement could not be undone due to the a fundamental rule in personal injury litigation known as the “once and for all” rule. This rule means that you only get one opportunity to resolve your claim, and all past and future losses must be included in that one settlement or judgment. Once your claim is finalised – whether by settlement or court decision – you cannot return later to claim more compensation, even if your injury worsens or you realise you’ve been underpaid. That’s why it’s essential to properly assess all damages and secure expert evidence before resolving a claim. Once the deal is done, it’s done for good.
When we asked why the claim was resolved for such a small amount, we were told “that’s all the insurance company said it was worth”. For the record, the insurance company was Suncorp.
Never trust or take advice from an insurance company. They are not on your side – they are directly opposing your claim.
5 ways a personal injury lawyer strengthens your claim
Apart from avoiding a disaster scenario like the above, using a personal injury lawyer can help to strengthen your compensation claim in a number of ways. Here are five ways that an injured person can benefit from engaging a personal injury lawyer to improve your chances of success in a compensation claim:
Represented vs. self-represented: the data
The difference legal representation makes isn’t just theoretical. We looked at every Queensland personal injury matter in our database that went to a contested hearing, and compared how plaintiffs fared with a lawyer versus those who ran their own case. The gap is significant – both in how often plaintiffs recovered anything at all, and the amount of damages recovered when they did win.
These figures reflect outcomes, not a controlled comparison. Plaintiffs who self-represent often do so because they couldn’t secure representation, which can itself signal a more difficult or low value case. But the pattern is consistent and stark, and it aligns with what the five points above describe: evidence-gathering, procedure, and negotiation are where unrepresented claimants most often come unstuck.
Can I use AI to run my claim?
Many people now turn to AI tools after an accident to find out whether they have a claim. AI can explain legal concepts and provide general information quickly, and that can be a useful starting point.
The difficulty is that personal injury claims are rarely determined by the information available immediately after an accident. In many cases, the most important facts are uncovered later through investigation, evidence gathering, and access to documents that are not initially available to the injured person.
AI tools rely entirely on the information the user provides. Injured people often do not know which facts are legally significant, and which information might actually hurt their claim down the track. Critical details may be missing, misunderstood, or not yet discovered.
Consider a common example: A worker slips while carrying materials at work and tells an AI tool: “I fell over while doing my job. It was probably my fault”. A personal injury lawyer may look at the same situation differently; asking whether proper training was provided, whether the task was safe to perform, whether equipment was defective, or whether the worker was directed to perform the task in an unsafe way. Even where a worker initially believes the accident was their fault, there can often still be a viable claim.
Evidence is also a critical factor. CCTV footage, workplace incident reports, ambulance records, and witness statements can all affect whether a claim succeeds. Many injured people do not know these documents exist or how to obtain them. Some, like CCTV footage, can be permanently lost if a request to preserve them is not made quickly – and typically, will not be provided to the injured person directly.
What does it cost to hire a lawyer?
There is also a practical consideration that is often overlooked. In many personal injury claims in Queensland, legal costs are recoverable from the other side if the claim is successful. That means the cost of engaging a personal injury lawyer may ultimately be borne by the insurer, not by you. At least to a significant extent.
Combined with the no win, no fee arrangements offered by most personal injury firms, the financial barrier to obtaining proper legal advice is, in many cases, very low. Given that, the question is not whether you can afford a personal injury lawyer – it is whether you can afford not to have one.
Overall, using a personal injury lawyer can provide a number of benefits in a compensation claim. A personal injury lawyer can provide expert advice, gather and organise evidence, negotiate with the other party, represent you in court, and help to maximise your compensation. If you have been injured in an accident, it is worth considering hiring a personal injury lawyer to help with your claim.
Are you considering making a claim for personal injuries? Contact ROCHE Legal for a free consultation.