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Suffering an injury inside someone’s home can be extremely costly, both physically and financially. While you may be aware that you can claim compensation for injuries sustained at work, public places and private property, did you know that you can also file a personal injury claim for injuries sustained at a friend’s home? Yes, you may be able to claim personal injury compensation for an injury sustained in your friend’s home. While it may seem like a daunting thing to do, especially if it’s a close friend, the reality is that you are looking out for yourself, both financially and physically.
Why should you claim personal injury compensation?
Injuries, even those sustained inside of a home, can have debilitation impacts on one’s finances, from paying for the initial medical care to long-term therapy costs. Worrying about your friend’s feelings and your relationship may put you in debt. While health insurance in Australia covers most expenses, some costs may not be covered, such as:
- Modifications to your home for special medical equipment (e.g. widening your door for your wheelchair to fit through)
- Modifying or purchasing a new van to accommodate your special medical equipment (e.g. installing a ramp to your van for your wheelchair)
- Loss of income from time taken off work for rest and recovery from injury
These are just a few of the expenses you can expect if you are injured and why you should claim insurance, regardless of if the harm sustained was at your friend’s home.
How do you claim for personal injury compensation?
Personal injury claims in NSW are governed by the Civil Liability Act 2002. Within this, the legal elements required to make the personal injury claim are outlined.
- Proving duty of care
To prove that the homeowner (your friend) was negligent, you (the injured party) must be able to show that the homeowner had a duty of care that was not met and that resulted in your injury. This is extremely important as the Court can determine that the duty of care was met by the homeowner and that you, instead, were careless and caused yourself injury.
The Court will analyse a few elements which include, among others, the following:
- If the harm/injury could have been foreseen by the homeowner
- If the harm/injury could have been foreseen from a lack of care
- Likelihood of the harm/injury occurring
- The effort put in by the homeowner to reduce the risk of harm/injury occurring
Keep in mind that if you cannot sufficiently prove that your harm/injury could have been foreseen due to a lack of care or if there was an ‘obvious risk’ then it is likely that the Court will side with the homeowner.
- Causation
In order to prove that negligence occurred, you will have to demonstrate and prove causation. This means that you must demonstrate that the breach of duty of care caused your injury/harm.
- Assumption of risk
The Court will have to decide if you (the injured party) assumed the risk. An assumed risk by the injured party means that you knowingly or reasonably could have known or expected the risk. If the Court determines that you assumed the risk and as a result, you were injured, then you will have no claim and will not be awarded any damages.
- Time limit
There is a specific legal timeline that you must follow when it comes to personal injury claims. You have 3 years from the date of your injury, or from the time that it was discoverable to lodge a claim. Depending on your circumstance, these time frames can be reviewed by a Court.
If you are successful in your claim, you will be able to claim for economic and non-economic damages. Damages are awarded on a case-by-case basis. The Court will consider the following elements when determining what your appropriate amount is, which include, among others:
- The amount of financial loss
- The severity of your injury
- Impact of injury on your future
At Prominent Lawyers, we understand that it can be difficult to pursue a personal injury claim. However, we hope that this article explained why it’s important to claim your compensation, even if it’s a close friend, and what you should expect from that process.
Our team has competent lawyers who are skilled in compensation law. Prominent Lawyers is here to help and advise you of all options specific to your case. Our team understands that this can be an awkward and emotional situation thus, we are prepared to handle everything regarding your claim, from the initial gathering of evidence through to our final moment representing you. We will guide you through every step of the daunting process until you are content with the compensation.
Get in touch with us on 1800 77 66 46
