Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Short answer: Contact us.

The steps you should take after an accident depend on many variables such as the circumstances of the accident, the people involved, the injuries sustained and the loss suffered.

Depending on your specific circumstances, you might have take urgent action to comply with certain time limits. Those time limits aren't the same for everyone.

So, contact us for a free consultation and we can give you some pointers on where to start.

Surprisingly, this can be trickier than you think! Opposing parties (particularly insurers) will do everything in their power to prove that you were at fault (even if you weren't).

We have the expertise and the resources to quickly gather evidence and make a clear determination. The evidence we usually begin with can include:

- Police reports

- Police notebooks, sketches and other records

- Internal vehicle data (e.g. positioning, speed and braking data)

- Photographs of the damage

- Repair /damage records

- Traffic light reports

- Road and nearby CCTV camera footage

- Witness statements

Being proactive has a huge impact on proving who was at fault. As time goes on, evidence disappears or diminishes in quality, giving opposing parties a way to argue against you.

Engaging experienced lawyers early will quickly put any argument to rest.

You may still have an entitlement to compensation.

Contact us and we'll help you figure it out.

We'll find them. Or, if we can't identify the other driver, we'll help you bring a claim against a kind of 'backup' insurer known as the Nominal Defendant.

Compulsory third party (CTP) is a form of personal injury insurance that is compulsory for every registered vehicle in Australia – that means motorbikes, commercial vehicles, cars and any other registered vehicles.

It provides compensation for people injured or killed in a car accident that caused by the negligence of another person.

That means the CTP insurance you select when you register your car would pay for another party’s personal injuries if you caused an accident. And, vice versa, their CTP insurance would cover you if they caused the accident and injuries to you.

Short answer: Ask us! But here's a quick checklist:

You will probably qualify for compensation if:

- you were involved in an accident that you believe wasn't your fault; and

- you suffered injuries (whether minor or major).

If you're not sure whether you have an entitlement or not, contact us for a free consultation and we'll help you figure it out.

A claimant is usually required to start a claim for compensation by delivering a notice (in a particular form) to the at-fault party.

The right form depends on the circumstances.

We're happy to help you figure out which form you need to complete.

In the majority of cases, the following time limits apply:

Commencing a claim

A claimant typically has 9 months from the date of accident to give notice of their claim to the at-fault person.

However, in some circumstances, this time limit is much shorter. It is therefore very important to consult with a lawyer as soon as possible after an accident, to make sure you comply with the relevant time limits.

In some circumstances, a claim can be commenced after this time limit. However, there are additional requirements that a claimant must comply with.

Commencing formal legal proceedings in a court

A claimant typically has 3 years from the date of accident to commence formal legal proceedings in a court. Extensions are available in some cases, but are extremely difficult to obtain.

However, there are certain steps that must be taken before you are even allowed to commence formal legal proceedings in a court. It is therefore very important to consult with a lawyer as soon as possible after an accident, to make sure you take all the necessary steps.

If you are under 18 years of age, or under another type of legal incapacity at the time of the accident, different timeframes apply.

What time limit applies to you?

Contact us and we can calculate the dates that are specific to you.

Usually, the at-fault party or their insurer.

In the case of an accident caused by the negligent driving/use of a motor vehicle, the compulsory third party (CTP) insurer of the at-fault vehicle will be responsible for paying your compensation.

In the case of an accident caused by the negligence of another person (such as a local council), that negligent person will be responsible for paying your compensation.

Thankfully, most at-fault persons have some form of insurance (such as CTP insurance or public liability insurance). That means your claim is very likely to be against an insurer (and not an individual person).

Making a claim is unlikely to have any significant impact on an at-fault driver.

For some, this is frustrating. They want the at-fault driver to be punished. This is where criminal proceedings can come in.

Bringing a civil claim is separate to any criminal proceedings. A civil claim is really about compensating you for what you have lost and what you will lose in the future.

It depends on the injuries.

Many claims can be resolved quite quickly. For example, an accident causing minor injuries could be resolved in a matter of months.

Some claims need to take a little longer. For example, an accident causing major injuries with complicating factors (such as intervening surgeries or long recovery times) could take longer, it is important to wait and see how the injuries develop before making any final decisions in the claim.

If you'd like us to provide an estimate on how long your claim might take, contact us.

Yes, you can.

If you'd like some guidance on how to run a claim on your own, we'd be happy to give you some pointers - just give us a call.

However, claimants with legal representation are likely to receive greater compensation than those without.

If you're on the fence about whether to engage a lawyer, get in touch with us and we can explain your options. We're happy to help, whichever way you go.

Yes, you can.

If your child has been injured in an accident, they may have an entitlement to bring a claim.

A person under the age of 18 years is considered (in the eyes of the law) to not have capacity to make decisions regarding legal matters. Therefore, they cannot bring a claim themselves (until they are 18 years or older).

However, an adult with full capacity can bring a claim on a child's behalf. This is often referred to acting as a child's 'litigation guardian'.

As with all claims, it is best to act quickly and not wait. Therefore, rather than waiting until your child turns 18, it is best to take action now.

For further information about bringing a claim for a child, contact us.

Probably not.

Most compensation claims don't make it to a court room, ever.

Each claim is different, but the odds of your matter going to court are very low.

Every claim is different, and so the steps are different.

However, here's a quick overview of what a claim can involve:

1.     Giving notice to the at-fault party

2.    Receiving the at-fault party's compliance response

3.    Investigating and determining liability (fault)

4.    Investigating quantum (loss)

5.    Gathering medical, financial and other important records

6.    Obtaining expert evidence (such as medico-legal opinions)

7.     Quantifying the claim

8.     Negotiating a settlement

No, but we recommend it.

Claimants with legal representation typically receive significantly more compensation than claimants without legal representation.

Each step of a claim is complex in it's own way. Claimants without legal representation can accidentally harm their claim without even realising.

Below are some examples of how a lawyer can help you secure a better outcome.

The initial notice form must completed correctly (and strategically) to ensure you keep your compensation options fully open. If you make a mistake in the form, or say something you shouldn't have, you could damage (or even lose) your claim from the beginning.

Gathering evidence should be done in a particular order and timeframe to ensure you have the right supporting evidence for your claim while also keeping costs (such as record request fees) low.

Engaging with experts is tricky. Firstly, finding an expert can be difficult. Only certain experts are qualified to give evidence that is admissible in personal injury claims. Secondly, selecting the right expert can make or break your case. Some experts might support your claim, while others might destroy it. Thirdly, instructing and briefing experts must be done carefully. If you don't ask the right questions, or don't provide the right materials, the expert evidence could become worthless (which means you have wasted your time and money). Lastly, many experts will refuse to deal with unrepresented claimants, which could leave you without critical evidence.

Assessing your loss is a skill that comes from training and experience. We often see claimants accidentally undervalue their claim or, in the alternative, overvalue their claim but without any supporting justification. We have the knowledge and experience to value a claim correctly, and ensure we have the right evidence and arguments to back it up.

Negotiations are a battlefield. It's one thing to negotiate the sale of a motorcycle. It's an entirely different thing to negotiate with an insurer who will take advantage of you at every opportunity. You have to convince the other party (such an insurer) to pay you - and we know how to do that.

Two main reasons:

    1.    They will do all the hard work for you;

    2.   They will get you a better outcome.

Doing to hard work for you

Think about all the work involved in bringing a claim. Every single piece of paperwork. Every single call to the police. Every single letter to a doctor requesting records. Every single Medicare, Centrelink and ATO form to access your history and satisfy mandatory requirements. Every single letter to the insurer disclosing all relevant records. Every single medico-legal evaluation. Every single witness interview. Every single gruelling negotiation with an insurer. Endless research to keep up with law. 

When you hire a lawyer, you assign nearly all responsibility and control over to an experienced professional. We take care of everything for you.

It's our extensive training, education and experience that contributes to our success for our clients.

Getting you a better outcome

A good lawyer will get you more in your pocket (even after you take out legal costs) than if you didn't have a lawyer.

In fact, in 2017, the Queensland Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC) found that legally represented claimants received an average of $80,000 more in gross settlement than unrepresented claimants. After taking out all legal costs, claimants with legal representation received 5x more than claimants without legal representation.

Well, we're good at what we do. We have the skills and experience to optimise our clients' outcomes.

We're so good, in fact, that many of our major opponents (such as CTP insurers) have dedicated teams to deal with matters against us. That's because we have an industry reputation for pushing harder and digging deeper. We don't back down until we get what our clients deserve.

As riders, we also have a unique understanding of what it's like to be in your position. This sets us apart, and helps us to provide a tailored service to our rider clients.

As every claim is different, the legal costs will be different.

Before you officially engage us, we will explain our legal costs in detail. We make sure our clients fully understand every aspect of our legal costs before they commit to anything. It can be a little boring (sorry), but we make sure you're happy before we even get started.

No.

We hold on to any legal costs until your claim resolves, meaning you will not pay a single cent on legal costs before that point.

No.

There is a common perception that lawyers will take more money than they help you get. While there are some lawyers out there that will do that, we don't.

With Motorcycle Law Queensland, you will never be out of pocket.

Depending on the size and stage of your claim, some of your legal costs may be covered by the other party.

Claimants without lawyers (or with less experienced lawyers) often miss out on having their legal costs paid by the other party because they don't set up their claim to meet the necessary thresholds.

We take steps from the very beginning of our clients' claims to set them up right, giving them the highest possible chance of additional costs recovery.

Ask us!

We provide all our clients with a clear breakdown of what their claim is worth and why.

Usually, this looks like a range of damages (e.g. "your claim is worth between $X and $Y") and a comprehensive explanation of why that is the case (e.g. "the evidence tells us this...", "this piece of evidence is reliable but this piece of evidence is not", etc.).

You can confidently accept an offer to settle your claim if it falls within the range of what your claim is worth.

If you receive an offer that is within (or above) the range, you know that you can accept the offer and feel good about it.

We have an exclusive Negotiation Guide available for people in this position.

Our Negotiation Guide will talk you through:

- The right time to start negotiating

- How to open up settlement negotiations

- Making written offers

- Making verbal offers

- Settlement conferences

- Figuring out what your offers should be

- Consequences of negotiations

- Tricks of the trade

If you'd like to access our Negotiation Guide, just contact us.