A Statement of Claim is a very importand document regarding a motor vehicle accident claim, a public liability claim or a workers compensation common law claim. In this article we have explained some of the things that should be in a statement of claim. While this is the case, every case is different and therefore this should be treated as a general introduction and not a complete list of the things that should be in a Statement of Claim.

Some of the things that should be in a Statement of Claim include:

• Who you are, (providing your occupation and date of birth). In some cases you also need to explain who the Defendant is but this is usually not required in motor vehicle accidents

• How your injury happened, specifying when the injury happened and where it happened. This is very important so that the court knows what pain and suffering typed damage (also called general damages or non-pecuniary loss) the injured person is claiming.

• In order to be successful in a common law claim, you must show me that the Defendant breached their duty of care to you or breached their Statutory Duty. You must therefore allege particulars of negligence sitting out why you think that the defendant is liable. Some examples in a motor vehicle accident would be “failing to apply the brakes of the vehicle” or “turning right when it was not safe to do so”.

• In a claim for personal injuries you must set out the injuries that you suffered at the time of your accident, and the permanent and ongoing disabilities that you have at the time of the statement of claim. Personally injuries actions are usually commenced at least 10 months to a year post accident to allow time for more temporary conditions to resolve, and time for the parties to see which conditions are permanent.

• Finally, you must set out the categories of damage that you intend to claim. In the statement of claim, it is common for a person to allege that they have suffered a satin kind of damage, such as economic loss, but not provide any detail. Particulars of that kind of damage, for example economic loss, would afterwards be provided as part of the particulars of damage.

In this letter I have explained the types of damages that may be relevant to your claim and I have provided examples in respect of each kind of damage in italics so that you have a practical example of how it is relevant to you.

Personal injury law is a complicated area of law end it is common for several types of compensation to intersect with each other. If you have an existing claim for compensation it is likely that you will benefit from the services of a trained personal injury lawyer who understands the system in relation to personal injury claims.

Foyle Legal specialises in the area of compensation law in Western Australia and takes on compensation claims on a no win no fee basis. You can contact Foyle Legal on 0408727343, by email at [email protected] or you can visit our website at foylelegal.com

Foyle Legal
6/2 Carson Road
Malaga, Perth, WA 6090