Claims Process
The process for claiming compensation.
How it works
Making your claim simple, stress-free, and as big as we can is our priority. vbr Lawyers has your back in your compensation claim. Here’s how it works.
Speak with a lawyer
The first step is speaking with a lawyer. This is where we’ll get to hear your story and assess your case. This process can take place anywhere — on the phone, in your home, at our office, or anywhere else, like the hospital or a cafe. If you need to, you’re welcome to bring a support person with you.
We’ll get an understanding of your story.
The idea is for us to gain a meaningful understanding of what happened. We want to know what happened, how it happened, and what the injury, disease, or case is. As well as that, we want to know what outcome you’re hoping for. Don’t worry, we know that often, you don’t really know what outcome you want — we can work together to understand this.
What is the feasibility of your claim?
A key element of this is that we want to determine if your claim is worth your time. While we will make every effort to make your claim easy and stress-free for you, there will still be time and effort required from you throughout the process, and this can last for months, even years. We’ll give you a good idea of what the likely outcome and winnings are for your claim.
We know you’re looking for answers. Here are the answers you’ll walk away with.
- Whether it’s worth your while to run the case
- The likelihood of you winning and a rough estimate
- What the timeline might look like
- Who your lawyer will be
Get a letter of advice
At the end of that initial conversation, some firms might try to get you to sign an agreement. We won’t do that. We’ll go away and put together a letter of advice. We’ll only put this together if we’re confident your case is viable and winnable. It’s our priority that this letter is really easy to understand — we won’t fill it with jargon and complicated legal speak, just plain English.
Your letter of advice will include these details:
- Confirmation of instructions (the next steps we recommend you take and the next steps we’ll take if you go ahead with us).
- Your obligations for the duration of your claim.
- Our obligations to you for the duration of your claim.
- An outline of the claim process.
- An outline of how our fees work.
- An explanation of required refunds to bodies like Centrelink or WorkCover if your claim is successful.
- A full timeline of the likely progress of your claim.
If you are happy with your letter of advice, you can sign your client agreement, allowing us to commence the process.
Legal process
Once your client agreement is signed, we’ll commence the process. The legal process could take just months, but it could run for years, depending on your claim and the extent of your injuries.
Early on in this process, we’ll prepare the relevant legal documents and a Notice of Claim. This is done in line with your instructions, and you will review the documents before we serve the relevant parties (this might be the CTP insurer, employer, or at-fault party).
For dust disease claims, if the claim is urgent due to a terminal illness, then we’ll commence the process immediately and apply for a speedy trial.
What about your involvement?
Our compensation lawyers will take on every aspect of your claim that we can. You will need to be available to attend medical appointments, meet with us about your injuries, and discuss your incurred expenses due to your injury.
You will have to attend a settlement conference and may be required to attend court if your claim is escalated. We know the idea of court can be scary for claimants. A statistic you might find comforting is that a massive 98% of claims are resolved before court.
Our lawyers have your back. Let’s talk about your claim.
Make vbr Lawyers your partner through your compensation claim. A multi-award-winning firm with a stellar reputation, our lawyers have your back.