Time Limits For Personal Injury Claims

Compensation can come from a variety of reasons and accidents. While it is best practice to apply or begin the compensation claims process due to injury, there are a few timelines that you need to be aware of. That means that if you do not start enquiries or proceedings within these time limits it could become difficult to assess and it may result in your claim being rejected or the compensation amount being less than anticipated.

WorkCover Claims

Strict time limits apply when making a workers compensation claim for an injury. In almost every case you are required to bring a workers compensation claim within three years of the date of the accident or injury being suffered. In some cases, it can be very difficult to ascertain precisely when an injury is suffered as some injuries (such as repetitive strain injuries) occur over a period of time. In these circumstances, the three-year period starts from when you first see a doctor about the injury.

Car Accident Claims

Under Queensland law, there are extremely strict time frames associated with making a claim for compensation for a car accident injury. To make matters more complicated, there are cascading time frames for not only the commencement of formal legal proceedings in a Court but also the delivery of a Notice of Claim. Generally speaking:

  • A Notice of Claim is required to be served on the CTP Insurer within one month of first consulting a Lawyer for compensation advice or nine months after the accident (whichever is the earlier) (except in the case of claims involving unidentified vehicles against the Nominal Defendant in which case the Notice of Claim must be delivered within three months of the date of the accident.
  • In the case of legal proceedings, three years from the date of the accident unless the injured person was under 18 when the accident occurred (in which instance the injured person has until their 21st birthday to make a claim).

Failure to meet the time frames (particularly in the case of the three-year limitation in the case of legal proceedings) will almost always result in you losing your right to make a claim for car accident compensation.

Public Liability Claims

Under Queensland Law, there are strict time limits associated with claiming compensation for a public place injury.  To make matters more complicated there are different time frames associated with the delivery of a Notice of a Claim and/or the commencement of formal legal proceedings.

As a general rule, a Notice of Claim is required to be delivered to the owner or controller of a public place within 1 month of first consulting a lawyer to act for you in a compensation claim.

In almost every case, formal legal proceedings must be commenced within 3 years of the accident that resulted in injury.  Failure to meet these time frames will almost in every case result in you permanently losing the right to seek compensation.