Nobody really wants to be in the position of needing to consult a lawyer for a personal injury claim, but it doesn’t have to be a harrowing experience. A good lawyer knows how to make you feel that you’re in safe hands and will do all they can to help you feel respected and comfortable. The lawyer-client relationship needs to be one of honesty, where you feel you can talk about anything and everything to do with your case and your lawyer knows they have all the information needed.  If you can be honest and open with your personal injury lawyer and provide the necessary information about your injury and other details, everyone benefits.

The Importance of Being Honest

It might help you to know that confidentiality is a crucial part of the lawyer-client privilege so anything you tell your personal injury lawyer is protected, which means they cannot share it with anybody. During a personal injury case, working with a specialist lawyer may be very helpful because the process of submitting a claim can be incredibly complicated. However, your lawyer can only work with the information you provide. If you are in the process of a personal injury claim, or you’re intending to make one, be sure to tell your lawyer everything and keep the information up to date.  

For over 38 years, PK Simpson has been helping the people of Australia get the compensation they are entitled to receive. PK Simpson lawyers have the skills and experience to make sure your personal injury claim is successful.

5 Things You Must Tell Your Personal Injury Lawyer

Here are five things that your lawyer must be aware of to run your personal injury claim. These may affect your lawyer‘s strategy during the claims process, and so they should be worked out well beforehand.

  1. Your personal injury lawyer should be told about any injuries or accidents you have had previously or ones not related to your present claim. The defence may argue about which injuries are related to your claim so your lawyer will need to be able to explain or to dispute their arguments.
  2. If you have a criminal record you must be upfront about it. While your record may not affect your personal injury claim, if it comes up in court your lawyer needs to know about it beforehand.
  3. If you have been bankrupt or are about to file, your lawyer needs to know about it. If you file for bankruptcy during your personal injury case, your settlement may be deemed part of the estate so your payout may go to your creditors. If you let your personal injury lawyer know about it, he or she can work with your bankruptcy lawyer and maybe a portion of your payout can be secured for you.
  4. If you have filed for divorce or will be filing for one, your personal injury lawyer needs to know. Your spouse may be entitled to some part of your damages if he or she was supporting you after you were injured. If you tell your lawyer, your spouse will be assured of receiving their fair share.
  5. You must tell your lawyer if you have sustained any injuries AFTER the accident in which you were injured and for which you are making a claim. The defence may allege you are trying to claim for injuries that are not associated with your claim. If your personal injury lawyer is aware of any other injuries he or she can dispute any erroneous claims made by the defence.

A PK Simpson personal injury lawyer advantage:

We pay for all medical specialist reports – No Win, No Fee guarantee –  First consultation free – We communicate – We’re effective and efficient – More than 20,000 successful claims – More than 37 years of experience.

Gather Your Documents

When you go to your first appointment with your personal injury lawyer you should make sure you have all your documents and a chronology prepared.  Once you have gathered them up, do the following:

  • Organise your documents chronologically – from the earliest to the present.
  • Make copies of all your documents and put the originals away in a safe place.
  • Give your personal injury lawyer a copy of your documents in chronological order.
  • But take along the originals since your lawyer might wish to sight them.

Take all your documents, even ones you’re not sure the lawyer will need.  By providing all the relevant information you have, it will help your personal injury lawyer to give you the right advice and to evaluate your chances of succeeding with your claim or resolving your case in your favour.

PK Simpson takes pride in being a personal injury law firm that takes on any case relating to compensation, big or small. Contact us today or enquire online now so we can help you. Call 1300 757 467 or email enquiries@pksimpson.com.au.

Frequently Asked Questions

A: The legal definition of a personal injury is general physical and/or psychological damage to a person which is the fault of another party. This can be, for instance, the driver of another vehicle, another person, owner of a public area, or an employer. A physical injury usually involves an injury of a psychological nature or it can be one or the other. Specialist doctors are required to identify the nature of injury to round out a personal injury claim.

A: A personal injury lawyer will represent you if you’ve been injured in an incident or accident that was not your fault. Lawyers such as the specialists at PK Simpson Sydney work in personal injury and compensation law, encompassing deliberate acts and negligence, to claim compensation for you. Apart from all the legal work, lawyers also help you to recover faster by making sure you get the treatment and resources needed. PK Simpson pays for all medical reports needed to maximise your claim and get the best evidence.

A: If you’ve suffered serious bodily, psychological or reputational injuries it’s crucial that you contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. There are special skills and training and a thorough knowledge of the law required to file a personal injury lawsuit and there are time frames in which you need to lodge your claim. Especially for traffic accidents and medical negligence claims in NSW, you will need an experienced team to handle and build your claim. So the advice is to take action as soon as you are able.

A: At PK Simpson in Sydney we act on a no win, no fee basis and an estimate of the costs will be discussed and clearly explained to you during the preliminary stages of your claim. At the end of your claim, we charge only for the work we’ve done, so if your claim is finalised faster than expected, we charge fees only up to that point. Also, we pay for all medical reports upfront.

Unlike most law firms, we don’t charge a strict percentage which would have you paying a set figure even if the claim settles in two weeks. Costs can be affected by the type of accident, your insurer, liability and other considerations.

A: The length of time you have to make your claim depends on the jurisdiction.

For instance:

  • TPD claims – these may be commenced up to 10 years after you’ve stopped work. TPD claims are very technical and you may have more than one TPD claim.
  • Car accident claims – A personal injury claim form should be filled in and sent to your CTP insurer as early as possible, but must be no later than six months from the date of your accident. HOWEVER, out of time claims may be made. New NSW CTP laws have made it difficult for injured people and many law firms still do not understand how to run new claims under these laws – so call us at PK Simpson Sydney as soon as possible.
  • Workers compensation claims – You should contact a lawyer within six months of the accident. But remember, out of time claims can be handled by PK Simpson Sydney. We can help you get the treatment required to build your claim.
  • Slip ‘n’ fall/occupiers liability claims – Your claim must be lodged usually within three years of the date of your accident.

Medical Negligence – within three years of the date of when the cause of action was discoverable to our client OR 12 years from the time of the act or omission which caused the injury through negligence.

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