Public Liability Claims in Queensland
In Queensland, people who slip, trip, or fall in public places (and even private places) and injure themselves might have a public liability compensation claim to assert under the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld). In legal circles, this legislation is referred to as the ‘PIPA’. The PIPA applies to all personal injury claims arising out of an incident whether happening before, on, or after 18 June 2002. However, it does not apply to motor vehicle accidents and some workplace accidents.
The most common type of claim arises from slipping over on spilled liquid on a shopping centre or supermarket floor, however claims can also be made if the injury occurred at a private facility or residence (other than your own residence – unless you are renting).
Most public venues and private places have public liability insurance in place to cover claims for compensation.
Your claim’s success depends upon whether or not the accident or injury occurred as a consequence or fault of someone else. This is known as negligence.
If your injury is serious enough, you may also be able to make additional compensation claims through your TPD insurance or life insurance policies, if you have any.
Slips, Trips, and Falls
The most common type of public liability claim is for a slip, trip or fall, such as:
- a slip, trip or fall at a shopping centre – particularly on a wet or slippery floor
- accidents at the premises of a sporting complex, business, or construction site – such as tripping over untidy cables or tools
The most common injuries sustained from slips, trips, and falls are:
- musculoskeletal injuries (injuries to muscles, nerves, tendons, joints, cartilage, and spinal discs)
- cuts and bruises
- fractures
- dislocations.
More serious injuries and deaths can also happen.
Other Public Liability Claims
Other examples of possible Public Liability Claims include:
Commencing A Public Liability Claim
Your claim will start with completing a Notice of Claim form pursuant to the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act which is required to be served on the at-fault party. Usually, the at-fault party has insurance, and the insurers will engage lawyers to oppose your claim and attempt to negotiate a settlement to prevent you from filing in court.
Our experienced legal practitioners know how to calculate and maximise your damages for your public liability claim.
Roche Legal represents injured clients with valid public liability claims as no win no fee public liability lawyers.
How does a public liability claim work in Queensland?
Public liability claims follow a set pre-court process under the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld). Most claims settle somewhere along the way and never reach a courtroom.
- 1Straight awayGet medical treatment and keep the evidence.See a doctor promptly and keep your records. Where you can, report the incident to whoever runs the premises, and keep photos and the names of any witnesses.
- 2Within 9 monthsGive Part 1 of the Notice of Claim.It goes to the person you say is at fault, usually the occupier, within 9 months of the incident (or of your first symptoms), or within 1 month of first instructing a lawyer once that person is identified, whichever is earlier. A late notice can still go ahead if there is a reasonable excuse for the delay.
- 3Within 1 monthThe respondent replies within 1 month.It must say whether it accepts it is the right party and whether your notice complies with the Act. If it does not reply in time, it is taken to accept that the notice complies.
- 4Within 2 monthsGive Part 2 of the notice within 2 months of that reply.Part 2 sets out the rest of your claim, and it can include an offer to settle.
- 5Within 1 monthExchange documents.Both sides must hand over relevant material such as incident reports and medical reports. The respondent must give you its copies within 1 month of receiving a complying Part 1 notice.
- 6Within 6 monthsThe respondent decides on liability within 6 months.Within 6 months of receiving a complying Part 1 notice, it must tell you whether it admits or denies liability, put a percentage on any contributory negligence it alleges, and respond to your offer or invite one, then make an offer of its own.
- 7Before any court caseCompulsory conference.Before any court case, the parties must meet to try to settle. It can be held at an agreed time, or either side can call it once 6 months have passed since the complying Part 1 notice. At least 7 days beforehand, both sides must exchange any remaining documents and certify that they are ready. The conference can be held with a mediator if both sides agree.
- 8Open 14 daysMandatory final offers.If the claim does not settle at the conference, each side must make a written final offer there. Each offer stays open for 14 days, and court proceedings cannot start while it is open. A respondent that denies liability must still make one, for $nil. The court does not see these offers until it has decided the claim, and then uses them when it decides who pays the legal costs.
- 9Within 60 daysCourt proceedings.If the claim still has not settled, proceedings should start within 60 days after the conference, and always within the 3-year limitation period. Missing the 60 days does not end the claim on its own, but it can cost you the other side’s costs of the delay, and the court can set a firm deadline.
If the 3-year limit is close, the court can let proceedings start before these steps are finished, but the case is then paused until they are done. Every claim is different, so get advice early on where yours sits in this process.
Time Limits
In Queensland there are important time limits for making a public liability claim. From the date you suffered your injury, you must:
If the 9 month limitation date has already passed, you may still make a claim if you have a reasonable excuse for the delay. Roche Legal has successfully made “out-of-time” claims for many clients – however it is important to act fast.
The courts are more strict about the 3 year time-limit and if you are out of time to file your formal court action, a special application needs to be put forward to the court seeking permission – which is not often granted without a very good reason.
How To Win A Public Liability Claim
Time limits for claims under the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act
| Your situation | First step | Deadline for it | Court proceedings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Injured in a public place or on private property | Part 1 Notice of Claim to the person responsible or their insurer | 9 months, or 1 month after first seeing a lawyer, whichever comes first | 3 years from the injury |
| Injured by medical treatment | Initial notice, then a Part 1 Notice of Claim with a specialist report | 9 months, or 1 month after first seeing a lawyer | 3 years from the injury |
Children: the 3-year period runs from age 18. Other exceptions apply, including loss of legal capacity. Missing a first-step deadline does not always end a claim, but it can, so get advice early.
To win a public liability claim in Queensland, the following three things must be proven:
A duty of care is an obligation that the organisation or individual occupying a property has to take reasonable steps to prevent injury and loss to others who use the space. A successful public liability claim requires proof that not only were you owed a duty of care by the occupier of the property, but this duty was breached by the occupier. Further, as a result of the occupier’s breach, you need to have unfortunately suffered an injury and loss.
It is possible to lose a public liability claim. See some real-life examples where plaintiffs have been injured but lost in court by failing to establish a breach of duty against the occupier of the property. Our drawings of Queensland public liability cases show how each incident happened and what the court found, in claims that were won as well as claims that were lost.
Can stop a claim
The Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) sets out various circumstances that might apply to limit or restrict a person from being awarded damages. Such circumstances that may restrict an award of damages entirely include:
- Where the risk of injury was obvious.
- Where the injury was sustained from engaging in a dangerous recreational activity.
- In a case for medical negligence, where an inherent risk of the procedure or medication materialised that could not have been avoided by the exercise of reasonable care and skill.
Can reduce the damages
Circumstances that may cause a degree of contributory negligence, reducing the award of damages can include:
- The injured person’s level of intoxication contributing to the accident.
- The injured person’s general conduct at the time of injury – such as wilfully exposing themselves to a foreseeable risk of injury.
The examples above are not exhaustive. It is important to discuss the elements and circumstances of each specific injury claim with an experienced personal injury lawyer to know whether the claim is likely to succeed or fail.
Based in Logan or Brisbane’s south side? Speak to our local team at the Springwood office, conveniently located next to the Dennis Road Medical Centre. We act for public liability claimants across Logan City, Redland City and the Beenleigh corridor.
What might my claim be worth?
Try our Queensland Compensation Calculator. It takes a couple of minutes and gives a plain-English estimate of what compensation can include, such as pain and suffering, lost income, super, care and out-of-pocket expenses.
It’s an estimate only (not legal advice), but it can help you get a sense of what your claim may be worth before you decide what to do next.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Roche Legal offers No Win No Fee representation to everyone with a qualifying public liability claim. Contact us for a free initial consultation. We have offices in Brisbane, Springwood, and the Sunshine Coast.
Public liability claims are generally made against the ‘occupier’ of the property (usually the owner of the building or the commercial tenant). The occupier usually holds public liability insurance to cover claims made by people who were injured on their property.
If you were injured on someone else’s residential property, there is a reasonable chance that they also have public liability insurance as a requirement of their mortgage.
Yes, if the business failed to take reasonable care to keep the floor safe. A business that controls premises is expected to have a reasonable system for inspecting and cleaning its floors, dealing with spills promptly, and warning customers or closing off an area while it is wet. The questions that usually decide these claims are how long the liquid was on the floor, whether staff knew or should have known about it, and what the business’s cleaning and inspection records show.
A business cannot always avoid responsibility by saying the hazard was obvious. Whether a risk was obvious depends on the circumstances, and clear liquid on a shiny floor can be very hard to see. Your own care still matters, though. Your footwear, whether you were distracted, and any warning sign you walked past can all reduce what you recover.
Evidence disappears quickly, particularly CCTV footage, which can be recorded over within days. If you can, photograph the floor and your shoes, report the fall to staff and ask for it to be recorded, and take the names of any witnesses. Our guide on what to do after a slip and fall and our article on liability evidence explain this in more detail.
Your compensation amount from a public liability claim depends on a number of factors, including your age and work situation.
Compensation can be claimed for:
– pain and suffering.
– loss of enjoyment of the amenities of life.
– any past loss of earnings.
– any future loss of earnings as a result of lost capacity to work.
– past and future medical expenses.
– paid or gratuitous care and assistance by family, friends or hired help.
Compensation payments are usually at their highest when the injured person is in their late 20s or 30s, married rather than single, and gainfully employed in a manual labour style occupation.
In contrast, compensation payments are often on the lower end of the scale when the injured person is over the retirement age of 67, single, and/or unemployed.
The amount depends on your individual circumstances.
Essentially, you can claim for the loss you have suffered as a result of the injury.
If a public liability lawyer agrees to represent you on a no win no fee basis, it is because they consider the claim substantial and worth pursuing. What it is actually worth depends on the seriousness of the injury, your age, the income you have lost and are likely to lose, and the care and medical costs involved.
Read more: Average public liability claim pay outs.
It usually depends on three things.
First, whether fault can be proven. The business or occupier must have failed to take reasonable precautions against a risk that was foreseeable and not insignificant. There is generally no duty to warn you of an obvious risk, and your own carelessness can reduce what you recover.
Second, how serious your injury is. Compensation is driven by the lasting effect of the injury on your health, your work and your daily life. The legal costs that can be recovered from the other side are restricted by law on smaller claims, so an injury that resolves within a few weeks may not justify a claim.
Third, whether you are within time. You generally must give a Notice of Claim within 9 months of the incident, or within 1 month of first instructing a lawyer once you know who is responsible, whichever is earlier. Court proceedings must usually start within 3 years.
If your injury has kept you off work, needed surgery or ongoing treatment, or is likely to be permanent, it is worth having it assessed. Our free claim check gives you an honest view before you commit. For why expectations and court awards often differ, see why a claim is rarely worth what people expect, and for the cost side, see the hidden financial risks of making a claim.
The Civil Liability Act (‘CLA’) applies to public liability claims in Queensland.
Section 47 of the CLA sets out that your claim value will be reduced by 25% if you were intoxicated when you suffered your injury on account of contributory negligence.
If your blood alcohol content was more than 0.15% the amount of contributory negligence applied increases to 50% unless you can satisfy the court that the intoxication did not contribute to you sustaining your injuries.
We seek to claim compensation from the liable party, organisation, or public body directly. However, most parties or organisations in such situations have public liability insurance to cover this situation so the compensation sum is usually paid by an insurance company rather than the direct respondent to your claim.
If the organisation does not have public liability insurance, they will be required to pay you compensation directly.
Understandably, many people feel uncomfortable about making a claim when they are injured at the home of a friend or family member, because they don’t want to sue someone they care about.
The good news is that in most cases you are not suing your friend or family member personally. Most homes have home and contents insurance, and where there is a mortgage over the property, the lender usually requires this insurance to be in place, so the vast majority of homes are covered.
These policies generally include public liability cover. This means your claim is made against the insurance policy, and it is the insurance company, not your friend or family member, that pays the compensation. Your relationship does not have to be affected as a result.
Generally speaking we strive to complete Queensland public liability claims within 18 months if we’re able to settle out of court, or 2 years if we have to go to court.
The duration of a public liability claim may be impacted by the seriousness of your injuries, the claim’s complexity, and the tactics employed by the other side.