Public liability and compensation claims

Commonly asked questions about public liability claims:

The first thing you should do after being injured is seek medical treatment and give your doctor as many details as possible about how you were hurt. Ensure you keep all receipts from medical bills and records of doctor’s visits. If applicable, take photos of your injuries, as well as photos of where the injury occurred if possible (even photos taken with your phone are ok). The more evidence you can compile, the more your lawyer will have to work with when it comes time to build your case. Don’t worry if you can’t or don’t have all of these things. Your Stacks lawyer will still be able to build a strong case for you.

Under the Civil Liability Act 2002, you are financially protected if you receive an injury due to another person or organisation’s negligence or failure to take a “reasonable amount of care”. You must be able to prove that the owner or manager of the property or facility on which you were injured was negligent. For example, if you trip and fall in a puddle of spilled liquid in a supermarket which has not been cleaned up by staff, this could be considered negligence on the part of the company that owns the supermarket. The Civil Liability Act covers injury, loss or damage to property, economic loss, or death which occurs on public property, or because of defective products or services (see product liability claims).

Previously, injuries sustained while playing sports in a public place were not covered by public liability law. However, in most states, this has recently changed. You can now make a public liability claim against the owner or occupier of sporting facilities if you believe that a lack of duty of care on their part has led to your injury.

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