PUBLIC LIABILITY & PRODUCT LIABILITY

Personal Injury Law protects you if you were injured on public property or in a public area in an accident that was not your fault.  Under the Civil Liabilities Act 2002, you are financially protected if you receive an injury due to another person or organisation’s negligence or failure to take a ‘reasonable amount of care’.  You must be able to prove that the owner or manager of the property or facility on which you were injured was negligent.  The Civil Liabilities Act covers injury, loss or damage to property, economic loss, or death which occurs on public property or because of defective products or services.

Sometimes, an injury will fall under more than one Personal Injury Law category.  For example, if your employer sends you to the shops to buy come coffee for the office, and on your way you slip, fall, and injure on the poorly constructed footpath, you may be eligible for both Workers Compensation and Public Liability compensation.  Public Liability law covers a broad range of accidents in which you may be eligible for compensation such as:

• Slips and falls on public property (or private property if faulty workmanship can be blamed)
• Accidents which occur on school grounds, university grounds, or public recreational areas (parks, sporting events, amusement parks)
• Dog attacks
• Food poisoning
• Defective products or services

“Defective products or services” fall under the category of Product Liability, which is covered under Public Liability Law.  Product Liability in Australia says that the manufacturer of the product, or the deliverer of a service, owes you a duty of care. 

Therefore, if you have used the product or the service and it has injured you in any way (even if you did not actually purchase it), you are eligible for compensation under the Trade Practices Act 1974, which ensures the safety of Australians by requiring that all businesses maintain a safe standard of product or service.  This Act applies to both New South Wales and Queensland, as well as the rest of the States of Australia.  To speak to an accredited Personal Injury Lawyer for advice, fill out the contact form at the right and find the Stacks law firm closest to you.

If you have been injured or suffered illness as a result of a slip or fall in a public place, due to defective products or as a victim of a crime, simply complete the form on the right and one of our personal injury lawyers - an expert in Public Liability law -  will contact you within 2 business days.


DISCLAIMER
The material on this website provides a broad outline of your rights. Personal Injury Law is quite complex however and the website would be difficult to read if we attempted to set out in detail all of the relevant legislation. Accordingly you should not make any decision to pursue or not to pursue a claim without having a personal injury lawyer consider the details of your case. We would, of course, recommend a Stacks/Compensation Lawyer.