Common questions about compensation claims

General claims work (WorkCover, public liability, motor vehicle accidents, TPD and medical negligence) is Queensland-based. Dust disease claims are handled nationally, because exposure histories often span more than one state and people move around the country over a working life.

A WorkCover claim is generally no-fault. You don't need to prove anyone was at fault to access statutory benefits after a workplace incident. A court claim is different: it requires proving negligence, meaning someone else's failure to take reasonable care has to be established. Which pathway applies is something a lawyer can work out with you, and some situations support both.

If the claim doesn't succeed, you are not charged the firm's professional fees, and you are not charged the disbursements either (medical reports, court fees and similar out-of-pocket expenses). The firm writes them off rather than passing them on to you. Where the claim does succeed, the other side normally contributes to your legal costs, so costs can often be claimed in addition to the compensation recovered rather than taken out of it, and nothing is billed to you along the way. The terms are set out in writing before you agree to anything. *Conditions apply.

Yes, and they often apply strictly. The limits turn on the type of claim and on which state or territory the incident or exposure happened in, so a figure that is right in Queensland can be wrong in New South Wales. In Queensland, a WorkCover statutory claim is generally lodged within six months of becoming entitled to compensation, which is usually when a doctor first assesses your condition, and a common law claim generally carries a three-year limitation period from the date of the incident. Queensland motor vehicle claims have earlier notice requirements to the CTP insurer. Latent onset conditions work differently again: Queensland has no court time limit for dust-related conditions, and statutory claims there generally run from diagnosis rather than exposure. Missing a time limit can mean losing the right to compensation for good, and delay can count against a claim in other ways, so it is worth having a claim looked at without delay. Limitation periods can sometimes be extended, and if you think a deadline may have passed it is still worth asking.

See the time limits in every state →

Most claims resolve without a trial. The process includes a compulsory conference, a formal settlement meeting, before court proceedings can be started, and the majority of matters resolve at or around that point. Some don't, and those proceed. Whether to accept an offer or press on is your decision, made with advice.

You describe what happened, when, and how it has affected you. You'll be asked about medical treatment and time off work. At the end of it you should know whether there's a claim worth looking at, which pathway it would run through, and what the next step is. There's no cost.

That can't responsibly be answered on a website, and the firm won't estimate it before understanding your situation. The amount turns on the condition, its effect on your work and life, your age, your treatment and the pathway involved. Any figure offered to you before that assessment is guesswork.

Often, yes. Family members frequently make the first enquiry on behalf of someone who is unwell, and in some circumstances a claim can be brought by or on behalf of a person who has died. It is worth asking early rather than waiting.

No. Whether you have a claim depends on how the exposure or incident happened, who was responsible, and which pathway applies. A diagnosis is the starting point for that conversation rather than an automatic entitlement.

Most often yes, but it depends on the circumstances. Asbestos-related diseases commonly develop decades after exposure, and time limits for latent onset diseases generally run from diagnosis rather than from the exposure. Many people who are now unwell were exposed through home renovations or through buildings that had asbestos products already in place, so it is worth a conversation even if your situation doesn't look like the usual picture.

It depends on the claim, and anyone who gives you a number without hearing the facts is guessing. A straightforward WorkCover Queensland statutory claim can resolve in months. A common law claim can take longer, because fault has to be established, but it can also move quickly depending on the circumstances. A court claim for a latent disease like mesothelioma or silicosis is more involved again, because exposure histories often reach back decades and across several employers.

Timing is fact dependent, and a claim can be expedited where there is urgency, which is common in mesothelioma matters. What counts for more than the calendar is that a claim is started promptly and then progressed diligently and efficiently, which is how this firm runs a file. A lawyer can give you a realistic range once they understand your situation, and you are entitled to ask for one before committing to anything.

This firm acts on a no win, no fee basis on every claim it takes on, and doesn't use litigation funders, so no third party takes a cut of what you recover.

In most claims, the other side contributes to your legal costs, so legal costs can often be claimed in addition to the compensation recovered rather than taken out of it. Anything that remains is generally dealt with at the end from the amount recovered, rather than billed to you along the way. Interest is only charged on unpaid legal costs, which is rare in practice for that reason.

Disbursements (medical reports, court fees, expert opinions) are a separate and real cost on any claim, commonly running to several thousand dollars. How they are handled is explained in writing before you agree to anything.

That depends on what happened and what it has cost you. It is worth being plain about the arithmetic: on a very small claim, the cost of running it can outweigh what reaches you at the end. As a rough guide, claims worth less than around $10,000 often aren't worth pursuing once disbursements are accounted for.

The firm does act on smaller claims. It just won't tell you a claim is worth running when it isn't. If there's no claim worth making, you'll be told that, which is a useful answer in itself.

Nothing. The first conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing. You are not signing anything, and you can take the answer away and think about it.

If you do go ahead, the things that carry any risk on your particular claim, including disbursements and what happens if the claim does not succeed, are set out in a written costs agreement before you sign it, in plain terms, so the decision is yours and an informed one.

Not always. Some compensation is available simply because something happened to you. A WorkCover Queensland claim is the clearest example: if something happened at work, you can generally access statutory benefits without proving your employer was negligent. Compulsory Third Party claims after a motor vehicle accident and TPD claims through superannuation work on similar principles.

Other claims require proof that another party failed to take reasonable care and that the failure caused the harm. A common law damages claim after a workplace incident, a public liability claim, a medical negligence claim, and a court claim for asbestos or silica disease all fall into this group. They are usually worth considerably more than statutory benefits, and they are harder to prove.

The fault-based one. After a workplace incident in Queensland you can have both at once: a statutory WorkCover claim that pays benefits regardless of fault, and a separate common law damages claim against your employer if their negligence caused the harm.

The second is usually worth considerably more, and it has its own steps and its own deadlines. Working out which claim you actually have is the first useful thing a lawyer does, and it takes a conversation rather than a form.