Personal Injury
Personal injury refers to physical injury to the body and/or psychological injury.
Causes of injury
Compensation claims for the most common causes of personal injury, arise from road accidents, work accidents, industrial diseases, tripping incidents, assaults, leisure and sporting accidents, injury caused by faulty products, mistreatment by health care providers.
Compensation
The amount of compensation for a personal injury will primarily depend on the severity of the injury. Serious injuries that cause intense physical pain and suffering will receive the highest compensation.
An injured person can be compensated for the impact of the injury on his or her lifestyle (pain and suffering, loss of amenities of life). If the injury is serious enough to prevent the injured person from continuing to work, then compensation for past or future economic loss (loss of earnings and earning capacity) can also be claimed.
Depending on the circumstances of the injury other entitlements may also be available.
Time limitation
Under limitation laws, when an individual is bringing a claim for compensation, court proceedings must be commenced within strict time limits from the date of the incident causing the injury, failing which the right to bring a claim is extinguished.
A claim for compensation requires considerable preparation before court proceedings can be commenced. Therefore it is essential that this process is begun as soon as possible following an injury.
