Compensation & Insurance: Personal Injury - Guides
Personal Injury
11. Resolution of Claims
Firm / Chambers:
Last updated: 14 Aug 2015
- Once your claim is established and you have evaluated the compensation amount it will be time to enter into settlement negotiations with the respondent.
- Most state and territory law requires a settlement conference to occur prior to taking any court action. You must make a genuine attempt at coming to an agreement out of court.
- A settlement conference involves organising a time with the other party to discuss offers of settlement. There are legal formalities that must be followed prior to a settlement conference occurring. These procedures may be different in your state or territory and you should discuss this with a lawyer.
- The majority of personal injury claims can be finalised during settlement negotiations. It is generally in everyone's best interest to settle the claim out of court. Court is expensive, time consuming and will not necessarily bring about a better resolution than settlement.
- After a settlement conference has finished and the claim remains unresolved there are steps that must be taken in order to commence a claim in the court. There will also be specific timeframes to observe for the lodgement of court documents.
- You may wish to engage a lawyer to assist you through the court process. The court process is highly specific and complex. There are different and rigid legal formalities and rules that must be followed and specific court documents that need to be prepared and lodged. A lawyer also has the skills to represent you effectively.
- All of the evidence that has been collected to support your claim needs to be used to initiate your claim in the court. The documents and other information will be evidence for the court if the claim gets to trial or hearing. For more information see our Civil Litigation topic.
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