Gold Coast Public Liability Lawyers

Here’s the truth about public liability compensation in Queensland:

The system protects property owners first. Injured people come second.

You slip on an unmarked wet floor at a shopping centre. You trip on a broken footpath outside a council building. You fall through a faulty railing at a restaurant. And suddenly you’re the one who has to prove – with evidence, experts, and documentation – that someone else failed in their duty of care.

Meanwhile, the business or council that caused your injury has lawyers on retainer, incident reports locked away, and an insurance company whose entire job is to pay you as little as possible.

Most people don’t know they need to act fast to preserve evidence. Most don’t realise that CCTV footage gets deleted within weeks. Most have no idea that the gap between their accident and getting proper treatment is the single biggest factor insurers use to deny or lowball claims.

Here’s what the traditional system looks like: accident → go home embarrassed → pain gets worse → finally see a GP weeks later → Google “do I have a claim?” → find a lawyer months later → evidence is gone → insurer says “prove it.”

Sound familiar?

We built Lifestyle Injury Lawyers because that system fails injured Queenslanders every single day – and we refuse to be part of it.

Public place accident claims in Queensland are governed by the Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) and common law negligence principles, with procedural requirements set out in the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld) (PIPA).

The system operates on a fault basis.

To succeed in a public liability claim, you must establish that the occupier or owner of the premises breached their duty of care to you, and that this breach caused your injuries. Property owners, businesses, and government bodies all have legal obligations to keep their premises reasonably safe for visitors.

Duty of care: Occupiers must take reasonable steps to ensure their premises don’t pose foreseeable risks of injury. This includes regular inspections, adequate maintenance, proper warnings, and prompt responses to known hazards.

Breach of duty: A breach occurs when the occupier fails to do what a reasonable person would have done to prevent the risk of injury. Factors include the probability of harm, likely severity of injury, cost of precautions, and whether the risk was obvious.

Causation: You must prove that the breach of duty caused your injuries – not just that a hazard existed, but that it directly led to your harm.

Time limits are strict. Under the Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld), you generally have 3 years from the date of your accident to commence court proceedings. However, PIPA requires you to give early notice of your claim – and failure to do so can create serious complications. Claims against local councils and government bodies may have additional notice requirements.

Evidence disappears fast. CCTV footage, incident reports, witness availability – these vanish within weeks. The sooner you act, the stronger your claim.