Overcoming the Compensation Claim Stigma

Injured people have a right to compensation and shouldn’t be criticised for taking action, writes Adelaide injury lawyer Belal Moraby.

More often than not we come across the notion that claiming compensation is a form of exploit.

The terms ‘abusing the system’, ‘vexatious litigant’ and ‘bludger’ are rife among critics.

Those claiming compensation sometimes face abuse from their employer or colleagues at work, neighbours and others.

Unfortunately, it is a fact of life that lots of people are injured every day in various different types of avoidable accidents, on the road, at work, in the home, or just going about their daily activities.

There are laws in place both in the form of cases and Statutes passed by Parliament which enable people who have suffered loss, injury or harm as a result of another’s breach of duty to claim compensation.

The Courts have devised ways to attempt to return such persons as close as practicable to the position they would have been if the loss had not occurred.

It is a fundamental right that dates back to the concept of ‘a tort’, which is a Medieval Latin essentially meaning a civil wrong arising from an act or failure to act, for which an action for personal injury may be brought.

A useful example which helps to put things in perspective is the case of someone involved in a motor vehicle accident.

John, a 28 year old boilermaker, is on his way to his girlfriend’s house and while driving his Toyota Hilux a third party driver collides with the rear-end of his vehicle.

As the third party driver was talking on the phone, he was not paying attention and therefore failed to brake before slamming into John’s vehicle.

As a result of the accident, John suffers a disc prolapse in his lumbar spine and needs to take a period of six months off work to undergo a fusion operation, which reduces his level of pain but does not eradicate it completely.

He stops attending footy training and begins taking copious amounts of painkillers.

His girlfriend becomes responsible for taking him to various medical appointments and takes time off from her own hectic work schedule to do this.

John ends up returning to work on light duties but it takes 18 months before his condition stabilises.

This is not an uncommon scenario.

Is it fair that John is now left with a permanent back problem with out of pocket expenses and vulnerable to dismissal merely as a result of the inadvertence of another?

This is where the law takes charge and assists people in similar circumstances to claim compensation to help them recover as soon as possible.

Those people with successful claims can be entitled to compensation under a myriad of heads of damage, including pain and suffering, economic loss, future medical expenses, voluntary services and consortium.

Compensation which is payable to a claimant is based on medical evidence and evidence relating to economic loss.

It is not some arbitrary calculation.

Compensation should really be looked at in terms of a remedy to help a person to get back on track and deal with the consequences of suffering a loss.

Claiming compensation is not an exploit, it is a right.

Do you have a workers compensation or motor accident claim in Adelaide or Perth? Contact us to arrange a free initial interview.