Our goal is to help clarify any uncertainties you may have and to provide you with the information you need to make informed decisions about your legal needs. If you don’t find the answers you’re looking for, please contact us directly for further assistance.
Yes, you can. If you lose confidence in or rapport with your current compensation lawyer, you are free to trigger the termination terms in your client agreement and enter into a fresh client agreement with a new lawyer. This will often require the negotiation of a lien or charge whereby your previous lawyer agrees to provide a copy of your claim file and documents to the new lawyer with a guarantee that they will be paid at the conclusion/ settlement of the claim.
Legal costs normally incurred in a compensation claim include:
Rin Kim Law is a no win, no fee injury compensation firm. This means that you do not pay us anything at all, unless and until we win your case and receive compensation for your accident injuries. Start with a free case review.
The general timeframe for making a compensation claim for damages for personal injuries is 3 years of the injury occurring or 3 years of your 18th birthday within which to protect your rights, whichever is the later date (Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld)). There are complications, however, if the personal injury is accrued over a period of time (as the date of injury is not necessarily the date you were first diagnosed). There are also particular (and different) pre-litigation processes, depending on whether you are injured in a motor vehicle accident, workplace accident or in a public place.
So please contact Rin Kim Law today to confirm your limitation period and what steps are necessary to protect your entitlement to compensation.
Your compensation entitlements will depend on what type of injury you have sustained and the circumstances of your injury – as there are different entitlements depending on whether your claim is regulated by the legislation applying to motor vehicle accidents, workers’ compensation claims or public liability claims.
Feel free to contact Rin Kim Law to arrange an obligation-free case appraisal and obtain an overview of your potential entitlements and the viability of your claim.
While attending our Brisbane City Office is the best way to meet with our lawyers and to get your claim under control, we are always happy to conduct initial obligation-free case appraisals over the phone, by videolink or by home or hospital visit in acute cases. Just let us know what language you feel most comfortable to converse in and we are happy to make appropriate arrangements for our meeting.
The type of injury you have sustained (motor vehicle accident, workplace injury, or public liability accident) will determine who the insurer/s will be and the medical and other expenses they can be obliged to fund up front, reimburse or pay as part of a settlement or judgment.
Contact Rin Kim for an obligation-free consultation and case appraisal to determine what costs and expenses you might be entitled to.
Whiplash is an injury that occurs due to acceleration and deceleration forces in an accident. It is the most common injury in rear end motor vehicle accidents, especially where a motor vehicle collides at speed with the rear of a stationary vehicle in front.
Whiplash injuries can affect all areas of the spine, including the neck, mid-back and lower back region. It can also affect other areas of the body such as shoulders and hips.
Various treatment options are available for whiplash injuries such as physiotherapy, exercise physiology, chiropractic and osteopath sessions and the reasonable cost of your rehabilitation will be funded by the insurance company once it accepts responsibility for the accident on behalf of the at-fault driver (or if the insurer can be convinced to commence funding without prior acceptance of liability).
We cover the entire state of Queensland:
– Gold Coast, Brisbane, Rockhampton, Emerald, Mackay, Townsville, Mt Isa, Cairns, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Gladstone, Beenleigh, Wide-Bay Region, Moreton Bay Region
Rin Kim Law can work remotely with you by communicating via video chat, email and video/teleconference when it is convenient for you.
The maximum amount of legal fees that you can be charged by a lawyer under a speculative or no win, no fee costs agreement for a personal injury claim in Queensland is 50% of the net settlement (i.e. excluding statutory refunds, disbursements) under the Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld). The purpose of this rule is to ensure that you as an injured claimant always receive a fair share of the recovered compensation. Please see here for a more detailed explanation.
Ensure safety, exchange information with other drivers, and report the accident to the police. See our motor vehicle accident news page here.
Generally, you must start legal action within three years from the date of the accident or your 18th birthday (whichever is the later date). However, there are detailed pre-litigation requirements under the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 (Qld), including making a claim within 1 month of consulting a lawyer or nine months of the accident unless you have a reasonable excuse.
The time limits and pre-litigation requirements can be technical, so feel free to contact Rin Kim Law for an obligation-free case appraisal to discuss what you need to do and when in order to protect your compensation entitlements.
Yes, but compensation might be reduced based on the degree of your fault.
Please consider contacting Rin Kim Law for an obligation-free case appraisal to assess your degree of culpability and the viability of bringing a claim for compensation.
Please see our Motor Accidents news page for details of the types of compensation you can claim for.
While you can represent yourself in a motor accident compensation claim against the insurer of the at-fault vehicle, there are a number of reasons why you may be better off engaging a lawyer to represent you. Further information is set out on our motor accident news page as to why.
Distracted driving, failing to yield right of way (at a pedestrian crossing), and speeding are typical causes of motor vehicle collisions with pedestrians.
Pedestrians might also claim where they have been injured due to a slip, trip or fall due to misfeasance or non-feasance of the local council or property owner/ manager who has allowed and “invited” the pedestrian onto the property.
The at-fault driver (in a motor vehicle accident), or the local council or property owner/ manager (public liability) may be held liable in a pedestrian claim; and the pedestrian themselves (to a varying extent).
Yes, if you can identify the at-fault driver (or satisfy the Nominal Defendant that the responsible motor vehicle cannot be identified through reasonable enquiry) and also establish that their breach of duty/ negligence caused your injuries.
Obviously, the answer depends on the severity of your injury. However, the important things to do as soon as possible (and in the order you are best able to achieve):
It covers past and future medical treatment & rehabilitation, past and future lost wages/ economic loss, pain & suffering and care & assistance. Indeed, the compensation principle is to endeavour to place the injured party in a position (as best as money can achieve) commensurate to what they would have been had the accident not occurred.
Report the accident, document the scene and injuries, and seek medical advice.
For further and more detailed information, see our public liability news page here.
Yes, if you can prove that the place had hazardous conditions that caused the fall.
For further and more detailed information, see our public liability news page here.
Fractures, head injuries, and sprains are common.
If you slipped and fell in a public place controlled by the local council, then that local council may be responsible if their misfeasance or non-feasance caused or contributed to the hazard causing your fall. If the council outsourced maintenance or repair to a third-party contractor, then that third party might also be liable.
If you slipped and fell in a shopping centre or public building where you were “invited” or entitled to enter and use the premises (you are a visitor, guest or tenant) then the owner or building manager may be responsible. Again, if the owner/ manager delegated cleaning or repair services to a third party, the third-party contractor may also be liable.
Again, the general limitation period for bringing a public liability personal injuries claim is three years from the date of accident or your 18th birthday (whichever is the later date). There are, however, pre-litigation claim procedures that must be complied with prior to the commencement of legal proceedings. See our public liability news page here for more details; otherwise contact a public liability lawyer to confirm when your limitation period runs until if you have any uncertainties as to what is required to be done to protect your entitlements.
Falls, electrocution, being struck by objects, and machinery accidents.
Yes, if negligence on part of the employer or another party is proven.
Please see our workplace accident and public liability news page, depending on the circumstances of your injury (as a worker or as a visitor/ bystander/ passer-by). Alternatively, please contact Rin Kim Law for an obligation-free consultation to consider your circumstances.
Safety violations can strengthen your claim as they demonstrate breach of statutory obligations and duty of care.
It is recommended that you consult with a lawyer before accepting any settlement offer to ensure you are receiving full and fair compensation for your injuries. Rin Kim Law are happy to discuss your situation and any offer you have received on an obligation-free basis.
All workers who have sustained “personal injury arising out of, or in the course of, employment if the employment is a significant contributing factor to the injury” are entitled to statutory compensation benefits (section 32 of the Workers Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld)). If the injury was also a direct consequence of a negligent breach of duty by the employer, a worker may also have a potential entitlement to additionally pursue a claim for common law damages for negligence. Please consider consulting Rin Kim Law for an obligation-free review of your individual circumstances.
Workers’ compensation at the statutory claim level covers ongoing medical and rehabilitation expenses, reimbursement of related out-of-pocket expenses (i.e. pharmacy and taxi/ ride-share receipts), payment of a portion of the worker’s ordinary time earnings and a lump sum payment where there is a residual level of permanent impairment (the acceptance of the latter potentially precluding pursuit of a common law damages claim for additional compensation). Rin Kim Law offers an obligation-free review of your workers’ compensation claim to determine your proper entitlements and whether or not you should or should not accept a lump sum offer at the conclusion of your statutory benefits claim.
Report the injury to your employer, seek medical treatment and the required medical certification, and file a statutory benefits claim with WorkCover Queensland or the relevant self-insurer (for larger employers).
In certain circumstances the answer is “yes”. Receipt of workers’ compensation statutory benefits or a Notice of Assessment confirming a work related injury are a precondition to a further common law damages claim against your employer. However, whether you can or should pursue such a claim needs to be the subject of careful consideration. Workers’ compensation statutory benefits are no-fault benefits that all workers can receive if injured at work. A common law damages claim requires the worker to be able to establish that their employer was negligent and that such negligence was the direct cause of the worker’s injury and resulting loss.
Rin Kim Law offers obligation-free case reviews and consultation to determine whether you can and should pursue a common law claim against your employer beyond a statutory benefits claim.
If your claim for statutory benefits is denied by WorkCover or the relevant self-insurer, there is a right of review with the Workers’ Compensation Regulator within three months of the decision. If the Regulator review is also unsuccessful, there is an available appeal to the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (and further from there to the Industrial Court of Queensland).
Rin Kim Law offers an obligation-free case review/ consultation to consider rejected statutory claims if you would like to contact us.
A claim made for injuries suffered due to negligence in a public space (local council controlled) or private property open to the public or to which you have been invited (shopping centre, concert venue, apartment complex, private dwelling).
You can claim for several categories of compensation. For more information see our Public Liability news page.
By establishing that the property owner/ manager owed you a particular duty of care, that they breached that duty of care, that you were injured as a direct result of that breach of duty and that it was a foreseeable and not insignificant risk that you would suffer such an injury in the event of that breach of duty.
For more information see our Public Liability news page.
In Queensland, the limitation period for bringing a public liability claim in a Queensland court is either three years from the date of injury/ accident or three years from the date of your 18th birthday (whichever is the later date). However, there are compulsory pre-litigation requirements imposed by the legislation covering public liability claims (the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002), which must be satisfied prior to commencing proceedings.
As a result, it is wise to seek advice from a public liability lawyer to review your situation and determine what steps you need to complete within what space of time in order to protect your legal entitlements.
For more information see our Public Liability news page.
While you can deal directly with the at-fault property owner/ manager to attempt to resolve any claim for personal injury at an early stage, anecdotal evidence suggests that settlements achieved at this stage are significantly less than settlements achieved with proper preparation of evidence and the involvement of legal representatives.
For more information see our Public Liability news page.
