Frequently Asked Questions

Public Liability QLD

What is the claims process?

Here is a general overview of the Public Liability claims process in Queensland. It’s okay if it looks a little scary or confusing, Shine Lawyers will assist you each step of the way!

1. Lodgement This involves submitting a Notice of Claim Part 1 (Notice of Claim) with the proper Respondent (the correct party to respond to your claim). The Notice of Claim must contain certain content, including an accident diagram. Note, there are time limits for claim lodgement so lodging promptly is strongly advised. Shine Lawyers will draft the Notice of Claim for you and arrange for your signature and return.

2. Compliance This involves the Respondent's advising whether you have complied with your legal obligations regarding the Notice of Claim content and format. Any non-compliance issues will need to be addressed. We will assist in obtaining compliance and addressing any non-compliance issues. Our aim is always first time compliance!

3. Disclosure This involves Shine Lawyers (on your behalf) and the Respondent's exchanging any documents relevant to the claim. This could include accident reports, receipts or material regarding your injury and treatment. If requested, both parties are also obliged to provide information about the incident and injuries. We will help you comply with these steps. During this phase we may send you to independent medical experts to assess your permanent impairment.

4. Liability Response The Respondent's have 6 months from compliance to investigate the incident and tell us whether they admit, partially admit or deny liability (fault). We will ask for an early response so your claim can progress.

5. Negotiation At the appropriate time, the parties will commence negotiations to try to resolve your claim. This could be at any stage of the claims process, however, we recommend awaiting until your injuries have stabilised and we have all the appropriate evidence to provide advice on the value of your claim. We will prepare a Claim Valuation and wait for your decisions regarding settlement. The most common way to enter into negotiations for your type of claim is to attend a Compulsory Conference.

6. Collection Once your claim settles, there are a number of steps we need to follow before money is received. This includes formally agreeing to settlement terms, advising government departments and other organisations about the settlement, calculating settlement distribution, and receiving and distributing funds.

What is the respondent?

A respondent is the person or entity responding to your claim. It is the person or the entity that we allege is at fault and has been served with a Notice of Claim.

When we refer to the “Respondent” in these communications to you, we may be referring to:

The Respondent themselves – that is the person or entity we allege is at fault
The Respondent’s Insurer / Insurance Company; or
The legal representation for the Respondent and/or their Insurer

What is compliance?

Compliance is where the Respondent/s confirm that your Notice of Claim is fully completed and complies with the appropriate laws. We will assist and advise you during this step in the claim process.

What you need to know about Compliance:

The Respondent/s has 30 days from claim lodgement to advise whether the Notice of Claim is compliant
If they confirm compliance (or are prepared to waive any non-compliance), they have 6 months to investigate the accident and provide their liability response
If they advise the Notice of Claim is non-compliant, they are required to tell us why and provide a reasonable period (at least 1 month) for us to respond. We will work with you to address any compliance issues
If they fail to respond to your claim, we are able to assume compliance

Of course, we aim for first-time compliance! We will work with you to ensure your Notice of Claim is comprehensively completed at lodgement time.

What does Deeming mean?

Once we have lodged your Notice of Claim the Repondent/s have a certain time period to respond to confirm that we have met the requirements of the legislation in providing sufficient detail and materials. If the Repondent/s does not respond within the required timeframe we can write to the Repondent/s and “deem” the notice compliant. We can then proceed with the next steps of the claim as though the Repondent/s has issued their compliance response.

What is a liability response?

The Respondent/s have 6 months from compliance to investigate the accident and tell us whether they admit, partially admit or deny liability (fault). Shine Lawyers will assist and advise you during this process, including asking for an early liability response, so your claim can progress.

The Respondent/s can claim Contributory Negligence if they believe that you are partly responsible for the incident and/or injuries. Common examples of Contributory Negligence include failure to take care of your own safety. If the Respondent/s alleges Contributory Negligence, they are required to express what percentage of responsibility they believe you should wear. They will argue that your claim valuation should be reduced to reflect this percentage.