Civil Liability Act

If you have been injured as a result of someone else’s negligence then you might be entitled to claim lump sum compensation. Some examples of public liability claims are:

• Slip and fall claims at shopping centres
• Trip and fall claims on footpaths
• Claim for injuries caused by defective products
• Sporting accidents
• Accidents at school either in the class room or in the playground
• Injuries at home caused by defects in rented premises
• Dog attacks.

The important thing to note, and this is very often forgotten, you can only successfully claim if you can prove that the other party was negligent. The mere fact that the school or the council or the shopping centre has public liability insurance does not of itself mean that you will receive compensation. You still have to prove that they are liable which basically means that they failed to exercise reasonable care for your safety.

These days such claims are governed by the Civil Liability Act which has made it much more difficult for injured people to claim. This is particularly the case where the claim is relatively small – by that we mean less than $100,000 in value. In such cases the amount that we can recover from the opposition for costs even if successful is very very limited and this has a big impact on the viability of such claims.

This is another reason why you should get advice from the experts. You need someone who specialises in the field. You need us!