Public liability · Aged care
Harmed in a Queensland nursing home or residential aged-care facility.
An aged-care provider must take reasonable care of every resident: falls, medication, pressure care, food and safety. National aged-care standards help show what that care requires. Your claim turns on what the care records show.
- No-obligation first consultation
- No win, no fee*
- We set out our costs in writing at the start.
This place, and who looks after it
Who may be responsible.
It depends on which part of the place you were hurt in, and who was looking after it.
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Falls
The approved provider
The organisation running the home: care, staffing and the building.
Ask for: Care plans, progress notes, incident reports
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Care staff
An agency supplying carers
If agency staff were involved in the care.
Ask for: Rosters and agency records
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Medication
The prescriber or pharmacy
If a medication was prescribed or supplied wrongly.
Ask for: Medication charts and pharmacy records
Where more than one may be responsible, the claim can be made against each of them.
Time limits
The clock starts on the day you’re hurt.
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9 months
Notice of claim Due first
Within 9 months of the incident (or of first symptoms, if later), or 1 month after you ask a lawyer to act for you and the party responsible is known, whichever comes first. (PIPA s 9)
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1 month
The provider replies
They must reply to your notice within 1 month. (s 10)
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6 months
Liability decision
Within 6 months of receiving your complete notice, they must tell you in writing whether they admit liability. (s 20)
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3 years
Court action
Proceedings generally must start within 3 years of the injury. For a child, the 3 years start at 18.
Missed the 9 months? Notice can still be given, with a reasonable excuse for the delay. Call us before the 3 years run out.
How people get hurt here
How residents get hurt.
Each one leaves a trail in the care records: what was planned, and what was done.
Falls and fractures
Often unwitnessed, often at night, often a known risk.
Medication errors
The wrong dose, the wrong drug, or over-sedation.
Pressure injuries
Bed sores from not being moved or checked.
Malnutrition and dehydration
Weight loss and illness that went unnoticed.
Restraint and assault
Restraint that wasn’t justified, or harm from another resident.
The test
What has to be proved.
The Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) sets out the test. Each step has to be met.
The risk was foreseeable
Whoever was responsible knew, or ought to have known, about the risk. (s 9)
It wasn’t insignificant
The risk was more than trivial. (s 9)
A reasonable person would have acted
Such as inspecting, repairing, warning or supervising. (s 9)
It caused your injury
The hazard was a necessary part of how you were hurt. (s 11)
They should be responsible
It’s appropriate for them to be liable for the harm. (s 11) They may argue the risk was obvious. (ss 13–15)
Straight after
What to do now.
- Report itTell the facility manager what happened. Ask for a copy of the incident report, or photograph it.
- Photograph the hazardWith a coin or shoe beside it for scale, and the area around it.
- Ask for the recordsAsk the provider in writing for the care plan, progress notes and incident reports.
- See a doctorEven if it seems minor. Keep your receipts.
Compensation
What you can claim.
- Pain and sufferingSet on the Injury Scale Value, from 0 to 100. (Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) s 61)
- Past lost earningsWages and super you’ve lost since the injury.
- Future lost earningsIf the injury affects your work. Future amounts are converted to a present-day lump sum using a 5% discount rate. (s 57)
- Care from familyIf it’s needed for at least 6 hours a week for at least 6 months. (s 59)
- Medical costsTreatment, medication and travel you’ve already paid for.
- Future treatmentSurgery, therapy and aids you’re likely to need.
What you can claim depends on your injury and your circumstances.
How your claim runs
From the first call to court, if it’s needed.
No-obligation first consultation
We look at what happened, who may be responsible and your time limits.
Notice of claim
We give notice to everyone who may be responsible.
They respond
They have 1 month to reply, and 6 months to say whether they admit liability.
Evidence
Medical reports, footage, records and statements are gathered and exchanged.
Compulsory conference
A meeting to try to settle. If it doesn’t, both sides make written final offers.
Court, if needed
Proceedings generally must start within 3 years of the injury.
If your claim doesn’t succeed, you pay no professional fees for our work. You may still have to pay outlays, such as report and court fees, if your costs agreement says so. If a court case is lost or withdrawn, or you don’t do better than an offer the other side made, you may have to pay the other side’s legal costs. We explain this in writing before you sign.
No-obligation first consultation
You decide whether to go ahead once you know your options and the likely costs.
Everything in writing
Fees and outlays are set out in a costs agreement before we start.
Capped at 50%
Our professional fees are capped at 50% of what you recover, after refunds and outlays. (Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld) s 347)
Questions
Straight answers.
Often, yes. Care plans, falls-risk assessments and progress notes can show whether the risk was known and managed. We ask for the records early.
In some cases, yes. A claim may be made for the person’s estate, and some family members may be able to claim for their own losses. We can explain what applies.
You can. A complaint to the Commission is separate from a claim for compensation, and can run alongside it.
No. We can ask the provider for them. If you have photos, letters or emails, bring them.
Notice of claim must be given within 9 months of the incident (or of first symptoms, if they appear later), or 1 month after you ask a lawyer to act for you and the party responsible is known, whichever comes first. (Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld) s 9) Court proceedings generally must start within 3 years. For a child, the 3 years start at 18.
Helpful reading.
Hurt somewhere else?
Was a loved one harmed in aged care? Talk to us.
Tell us what happened and when. We’ll explain who may be responsible and which records to ask for.
General information only, not legal advice about your situation. No win, no fee*: if the claim doesn’t succeed, you pay no professional fees; whether outlays are payable depends on your costs agreement. If a court case is lost or withdrawn, or you don’t do better than an offer the other side made, you may have to pay the other side’s legal costs.