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Travel accident injury compensation

Travel accident lawyers NSW

A travel accident occurs when you are injured in the course of travel or while overseas.
An injury overseas can be devastating. Not only can it cause pain, discomfort and financial loss, but it can also bring disappointment, through disrupting holiday plans, creating the inconvenience of having to find medical treatment abroad, or needing to be repatriated back home. Equally, being injured in Australia when you are a visitor from another country is also very stressful.

Take out travel insurance before you travel

Before you start your holiday, we strongly recommend that you ensure you have a good level of travel insurance cover.

It is essential when taking out travel insurance that you read and understand the terms and conditions, as each policy is different. For example, some may offer unlimited cover for health problems and injuries while travelling, while others limit their cover to exclude certain injuries, such as those occurring on the ski field, or charge a premium if you have a pre-existing condition.

We recommend that you register your travel plans and itinerary with the Australian government’s Smartraveller website before you leave home, so you are easy to locate in the case of an emergency, such as a natural disaster.

Travel accident injury compensation claims

Accidents overseas can cover a variety of situations. As an example, you may have been involved in a motor accident in England, a fall from a balcony in Spain, or a speedboat accident in Hawaii. Other examples include accidents occurring during the course of travel, such as on internal and international flights, accidents on cruise ships, and accidents on trains and coach tours.

If you are injured while holidaying overseas you may be able to claim compensation. It is usually necessary to prove fault by a third party.

One of the first things you should do, once you are safe and have received medical attention, is get in touch with a personal injury lawyer in Australia who is experienced in bringing claims arising from accidents overseas.

It can be very confusing and stressful to be wondering where to turn to protect your rights, especially when you are dealing with foreign insurance companies in another language. Our lawyers speak a number of languages and can help take the stress out of the claims process.

If necessary, we can arrange a professional translator or interpreter to ensure you are fully informed and advised in a language you understand.

Commonly asked questions about travel injury claims:

If you have been injured abroad, the first thing to do is seek medical treatment and notlet stress overwhelm you.

While you are still in the foreign country, you should gather as much information about the accident as possible.Regardless of how serious your injury seems to be, there are important steps you should take before leaving the country you were injured in, including:

  • Reporting the accident to the relevant authorities
  • Gathering as much information about the accident as possible, including photographs
  • Obtaining names and contact details of any witnesses
  • Getting copies of the police report
  • Bringing home copies of your foreign hospital records

You can also get in touch with us while you are overseas, either by email or phone, to be provided with a checklist of what you should do before returning to Australia.

Depending on your accident circumstances, you may be able to bring the claim in Australia or the foreign country where the accident occurred.We can advise you of the advantages and disadvantages of the options available to you and guide you through the legal process for whichever option you select.

Yes, our travel lawyers have represented overseas visitors involved in accidents throughout Australia, including those who have returned to their home country before their claim was finalised.

If you are a foreign national injured while visiting Australia, our travel law experts at Stacks can assist you by explaining Australian law and helping you get the compensation you deserve.Overseas visitors who are injured in Australia are generally entitled to receive compensation under Australian law,despite the fact that they may have already returned to their own country.

We regularly have Skype appointments with clients based overseas and are also able to travel to see clients overseas, and meet with their families, doctors and carers to obtain statements and information needed to successfully prosecute claims.

We also have experience in successfully applying to the Australian courts for the trial to be conducted in our client’s home country, minimising inconvenience and saving costs.

Our lawyers can help anyone who has suffered an injury or illness abroad, where someone else was at least partly at fault.You may have a right to receive compensation even if you were partly at fault,and in come cases without having to prove negligence.

Our lawyers will help you understand your rights to compensation arising from your accident and what we can do to help. Specifically, we provide you with information about:

  • What you need to do to lodge a claim
  • Which country’s law applies to your claim
  • Any time limits which may apply
  • Who pays the legal fees
  • What the claim is likely to involve

The laws of the foreign country where the accident occurred often apply to some aspects of the claim, such as the time limit that you have to bring a claim. It is very important to seek legal advice early, as this time limit can be as short as six months.

Even if you are partly at fault, you may still be entitled to compensation. You should get in touch with us as soon as possible if you are not sure about whether or not you are considered negligent.

Regardless of who was at fault, we recommend recording and providing us with as much information as possible about the accident so that we have all the tools necessary to help.

Cruise ship accidents can be complex, as the laws that apply to cruise ships both in port and on the high seas are different to the laws that apply if your accident occurred in Australia.To further complicate matters, international maritime conventions may apply, depending on the port where your cruise ship is registered and who the cruise operator is.

Injured cruise ships passengers will often also have a claim under the terms of their holiday contract and the Australian Consumer Law, as well as in negligence. These claims can be complicated, as different countries’ laws can apply.

We have assisted many clients who have been injured in cruise ship accidents, including:

  • Slips on food and drink spillages
  • Trips and slips on wet decks and in communal areas
  • Accidents during shore excursions
  • Accidents occurring while boarding and disembarking the ship
  • Injuries caused by fixtures and fittings on the vessel

As cruise ships are constantly moving from port to port, site inspections and evidence gathering can be difficult. It is therefore helpful if you can gather as much evidence as possible before disembarking.If you are injured on a cruise ship, we recommend that you:

  • Report the accident
  • Ask for a copy of the accident statement
  • Take photographs of the accident location
  • Take the names and contact details of witnesses, including cruise employees

If you are unsure about what to do, we can advise you by telephone or email on what you should do to preserve your rights.

Many airline passengers have a right to compensation without having to prove negligence. However, these claims are not straightforward, as international conventions often apply, which incorporate specific criteria that passengers have to fulfil to be successful in their claim.

Fortunately, while aviation tragedies such as MH17, MH370 and Germanwings Flight 9525 are rare, airline passengers on domestic and international flights are often injured either onboard the aircraft or while boarding or disembarking. We have assisted clients injured in:

  • Trips and slips in airport concourse areas
  • Trips in passenger jetways, tunnels and bridges while boarding or disembarking
  • Defective seats
  • Head injuries from falling objects, such as from overhead lockers
  • Burns from spilt hot drinks
  • Injuries caused by refreshment trollies
  • Cuts from defective fixtures and fittings

Our travel injury and aviation lawyers have also represented the families of deceased passengers following domestic and international air tragedies.

Airplane accidents often have a shorter time limit for bringing a claim than other types of personal injury. It is therefore important to seek expert legal advice as soon as possible.

Our experts

Tom Goudkamp

Tom Goudkamp

Managing Director
Sydney CBDNewcastle
Phone Tom Tel(02) 9237 2222
Julia Camus

Julia Camus

Senior Associate
Sydney CBD
Phone Julia Tel(02) 9237 2222
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We’ll always be honest and upfront. We’ll look you straight in the eye and agree on a plan before moving forward.

We know the ropes and our professionals have expertise specific to every legal situation—many are Accredited Specialists.

We speak clearly and directly, so you understand our advice and can make decisions with confidence.

We’re local to wherever you are, and our offices are owned and operated by friendly, local professionals, proud of their communities.

We genuinely care about our clients. It’s the core of who we are and has been since the first practice was opened by ER Stack on the NSW Mid-North Coast in 1931.

We make the process easy for you with the latest tech to keep services cost effective—and you in control.

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