Public liability lawyers in Queensland

What is a public liability claim?

A public liability claim is a claim for compensation against a person or organisation whose carelessness caused you harm in a place or activity they controlled. It sits outside the workers’ compensation and CTP schemes. It covers incidents in public places, businesses, rental properties, private homes and events, and harm from faulty products.

The name comes from the insurance. Most businesses, councils, landlords and event organisers hold public liability insurance, and it is usually the insurer, not the owner personally, who responds to the claim and pays any compensation.

In Queensland these claims are governed by the Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld), the Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld) and the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld), which sets the pre-court procedures. Between them, these set the legal test, the deadlines and the steps that must happen before a court is involved.

When an occupier is legally responsible

An accident in someone else’s premises does not, on its own, give you a claim. The law does not expect occupiers to prevent every mishap. It expects them to take reasonable care. A public liability claim generally has to establish three things.

1. A duty of care. Occupiers, businesses, landlords, councils and manufacturers generally owe a duty to take reasonable care for people who may be affected by what they do. This is rarely the contested issue.
2. A breach of that duty. Under the Civil Liability Act, a person is generally only in breach if the risk was foreseeable, the risk was not insignificant, and a reasonable person in their position would have taken precautions against it.
3. Causation. The breach must have caused the harm. If the same thing would probably have happened even with reasonable precautions, the claim generally fails.

How a court decides what “reasonable” means

In deciding whether a reasonable person would have taken precautions, a court weighs four things: how likely the harm was, how serious it was likely to be, how burdensome the precautions would have been, and the social value of the activity creating the risk.

That balance is why two falls that look similar can end differently. A spill that sat on a supermarket floor for 40 minutes between inspections is a different case from a drink knocked over seconds before someone walked past. The answer usually sits in documents: inspection schedules, cleaning logs, maintenance requests, CCTV and incident registers.

Obvious risks and dangerous recreational activities

Queensland’s civil liability laws contain specific rules that often decide claims involving sport, recreation and everyday hazards.

Obvious risks. An obvious risk is one that would have been obvious to a reasonable person in your position, such as a clearly visible step, a steep bank or a wave breaking on rocks. A person is generally presumed to have been aware of an obvious risk, and there is generally no duty to warn of it. A risk can still be obvious even if it is unlikely to happen.

Dangerous recreational activities. A dangerous recreational activity is one involving a significant risk of physical harm. Where harm results from an obvious risk of that kind of activity, the provider is generally not liable. Courts decide case by case what counts as dangerous and what counts as obvious, and the answer is not always what people expect.

These rules do not end every claim involving recreation. A risk created by poor maintenance, faulty equipment or an operator’s own error may not be an “obvious risk” of the activity at all. A trampoline park with a torn mat, or a hire business supplying defective gear, is often a different question from the ordinary risks of the sport.

Slip and fall claims in shops and shopping centres

A slip and fall claim is the most familiar kind of public liability claim, and shopping centres and supermarkets are where many of them happen. The legal test is the same as for any occupier, but a few practical points matter here.

Who is responsible in a shopping centre

A large shopping centre often involves several parties. The centre owner or manager usually controls the common areas. Individual tenants control their own shops. Cleaning and security are often contracted out. Each may have its own insurer. Identifying the right party, or parties, matters because each must receive a formal notice within the time limits.

Evidence in a slip and fall claim

Most slip and fall claims come down to the occupier’s system for dealing with hazards:

• how often the area was inspected and cleaned, and whether that was recorded
• whether staff were trained to spot and deal with spills
• whether the flooring was suitable for the area, particularly near food outlets and entrances in wet weather
• whether warning signs or mats were used
• what the CCTV shows about how long the hazard was there

Stores and centres usually keep this material, but they do not keep it forever. CCTV is often recorded over within weeks unless someone asks for it to be preserved.

What to do after a fall in a public place

If you are able to, on the day or soon after:

• photograph the hazard and the wider area, including any warning signs or the absence of them
• report the incident and ask for the incident report number
• note the names and phone numbers of anyone who saw what happened
• keep the shoes and clothing you were wearing
• see a doctor, so your condition is recorded at the time

If that moment has passed, the claim has not. It means more of the work goes into requesting records from the occupier and its insurer, which is a normal step in these matters.

Claims against councils and public authorities

Where the hazard was on a public footpath, in a park, on a road or in a public building, the responsible party may be a local council or a state government body. The same negligence framework applies, with additional protections for public authorities.

• Resources and priorities. A court generally has to take into account the financial and other resources reasonably available to the authority, and the broad range of its responsibilities. An authority is not expected to fix every defect at once.
• Roads and footpaths. An authority is generally not liable for failing to repair or inspect a road unless, at the time, it had actual knowledge of the particular risk that caused the harm. Footpaths are generally treated in the same way.
• Policy decisions. Decisions about how to allocate a budget are generally protected unless they were so unreasonable that no reasonable authority could have made them.

These protections make council claims harder, not impossible. The important evidence is usually what the authority knew: earlier complaints, customer requests, inspection records and maintenance history for that stretch of footpath or that piece of equipment. Those records can be requested as part of the claim.

Other places claims commonly arise

Public liability covers more than shops and footpaths. Claims also arise from:

• Rental and private property. Landlords are generally expected to fix defects they know about, or ought to know about, within a reasonable time. Where a fall happens at a private home, the owner’s home and contents insurance often responds.
• Faulty products. Where a defective product caused harm, a claim may lie against the manufacturer or importer under the Australian Consumer Law as well as in negligence. Keep the product, its packaging and the receipt.
• Dog attacks. The owner, and sometimes the occupier of the property where it happened, may be responsible.
• Gyms, pools, schools and events. Operators and organisers owe a duty to supervise and maintain equipment reasonably. Waivers and signed conditions can affect these claims and need to be read carefully.
• Pubs, clubs and restaurants. Poor lighting, wet floors, unsafe stairs and inadequate security are common issues.

Time limits for a public liability claim in Queensland

There are two deadlines to know about, and the earlier one catches people out. These are the Queensland deadlines; other states differ.

The notice of claim is a formal document under Queensland’s pre-court procedures. It sets out what happened and is given to each party that may be responsible. A late notice can sometimes be excused if there is a reasonable explanation, but that adds cost and argument that is better avoided.

The three-year limitation period is the outer limit for starting court proceedings. Because the pre-court procedures must be completed first, a claim left close to that date can be difficult to prepare properly. Our article on time limits for compensation claims explains how the different periods interact.

What a public liability claim can cover

Compensation in a public liability claim is assessed under the Civil Liability Act. Depending on the circumstances, it can include:

• General damages for pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. In Queensland these are assessed against a regulated scale, which gives each condition a numerical value and converts it to an amount set by regulation.
• Past and future loss of earnings, and the superannuation that would have been paid on them. Future earnings are generally capped at a multiple of average weekly earnings.
• Medical, treatment and rehabilitation costs, past and future.
• Paid care, and unpaid care from family or friends. Unpaid care is generally only claimable if it reaches a threshold of at least six hours a week for at least six months.
• Out-of-pocket expenses, such as travel to appointments.

Things that can reduce compensation

If you were partly responsible, compensation is generally reduced to reflect your share. Intoxication can also affect a claim, and in some circumstances Queensland law presumes a reduction where alcohol or drugs played a part.

Any figure offered before your medical position, treatment and work situation are understood is a guess. A realistic view of a claim’s value comes after the medical assessments, not before.

Do you need a lawyer for a public liability claim?

You are not required to have one. In practice, the insurer on the other side is always represented, and the steps are technical: the notice of claim, the exchange of documents, the medical assessments and the compulsory conference. The most common avoidable problem is a notice given late, or given to only one of several responsible parties.

A lawyer’s work in these claims is largely about evidence. That means getting the occupier’s records before they are lost, identifying every party who may be responsible, and presenting your medical and financial position properly.

When another compensation scheme applies

Some incidents that look like public liability claims are handled under a different scheme, each with its own deadlines:

• A fall while working, even in a place open to the public, may support a workers’ compensation claim, and possibly a separate claim against the occupier as well.
• An incident involving a vehicle, including in a carpark, may fall under the CTP scheme instead.
• Harm that followed treatment, rather than the incident itself, may raise questions of medical negligence.
• If your condition means you cannot return to work, a TPD claim through your superannuation may be available alongside the public liability claim.

Working out the right pathway early matters, because the notice requirements differ.

How the firm runs your claim

The lawyer who takes your first call is the lawyer who runs your claim. The firm keeps a deliberately low number of clients per solicitor, and you will have your lawyer’s direct phone number and email.

Every claim is run on a no win, no fee* basis, and the firm does not use litigation funders. Legal costs can often be claimed in addition to any compensation recovered, and interest is only charged on legal costs that remain unpaid. Disbursements, such as medical reports, records fees and court fees, are a separate cost, and they are explained to you in writing before anything is agreed.

If you would like to talk through what happened, you can request a free case review or call 1300 848 424. The conversation is confidential and commits you to nothing.