Answer by Janelle Black, Brisbane 4000 QLD

• There are limits to how much compensation you can claim. These limits are governed by the law or legislation and the common law or case law. For example in Queensland the Civil Liability Act 2003 (QLD) governs compensation and the amounts that can be claimed.
• Civil liability legislation in most states and territories imposes limits on various damages. These limits are often applied to general damages that compensate you for pain and suffering. This is because this head of damage can be subjective (difficult to prove).
• There are also likely to be limits on the amount of damages you claim for future care and assistance and future economic loss. The reason for this is these can amount to large amounts of monetary compensation that are based on an uncertain estimate or prediction of the future.
• The law usually bases these limits on past cases that have gone to court and on the nature and severity of the injury.
• There can be quite a big difference between how much compensation you claim and what you actually receive. Usually you claim a significant amount of compensation that might represent the maximum amount based on the evidence about your injury or “your best case scenario.”
• However during settlement negotiations the respondent to your claim is likely to offer you an amount that is below or at “your worst case scenario.”
• Usually the parties will agree somewhere in the middle on an amount of compensation that is satisfactory to them both.