1300 209 997

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Personal Injury Lawyer in Caboolture

Every injury claim in Queensland runs on a clock, and the clocks are not the same

Nine months, six months, one month, three years: which period applies to your injury, what starts it, and what it means to miss it, from the firm's staffed office on East Street, Caboolture, open Monday to Friday

The single most common way an injury claim in the Caboolture district fails is not on its merits. It fails on time. Queensland's three injury schemes each run on their own statutory periods, the periods start from different events, and one of them starts running the moment you first instruct a lawyer. Catton Roderick Lawyers acts in motor vehicle accident, workplace and WorkCover, and public liability claims across Moreton Bay from Unit 3, 9 East Street, Caboolture, open Monday to Friday, and this page sets out the clocks in one place: what each period is, what starts it, and why the first appointment is about dates before it is about anything else.

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Ask most people how long they have to make an injury claim and they will say three years, because that is the limitation period for a court action. It is also the least important date in the sequence. Long before a court action could be started, each scheme requires notice to the right respondent within a much shorter period, and the notice is what preserves the claim. A person injured in a Morayfield car park who does nothing for ten months has not lost three years; they have missed the nine-month notice period under the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act, and a claim that could have been straightforward now has to begin with an explanation for the delay.

This is the Caboolture office page for the firm's personal injury practice. It concentrates on the time limits because the district's twelve locality pages already cover the schemes, the respondents and the settings in depth. The office is at Unit 3, 9 East Street, in the town centre, and Caboolture Hospital is on McKean Street a short distance away.

Local context

Why this matters here

Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld). For injuries in shops, car parks, footpaths, rental properties, schools and most other places, a Part 1 Notice of Claim must generally be given within nine months of the incident or the first appearance of symptoms, or within one month of first instructing a lawyer, whichever comes first. The one-month limb is the one people do not expect: seeing a lawyer starts a clock of its own.

Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 (Qld). For injuries caused by the driving of a motor vehicle, a Notice of Accident Claim Form must generally be given to the CTP insurer within its own nine-month and one-month periods, measured the same way.

Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld). For injuries in the course of employment, an application for compensation is generally to be made within six months of the injury. That is the shortest period of the three, and it governs the statutory benefits that do not require proof of fault; a separate common law damages claim has its own steps.

Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld). A court action for damages for personal injury is generally to be started within three years. For a person injured as a child, the three years run from their eighteenth birthday. Reaching the court is the last step in every scheme, after notice, exchange of information and a compulsory conference or its equivalent, so the three years is a backstop, not the working deadline.

The district produces every kind of injury these periods apply to: crashes on the Bruce Highway and Morayfield Road, injuries in the retail corridor, on building sites, in the industrial belt and on farms at Wamuran, and falls in rented homes and townhouse complexes. The dates do not care which. The firm states that it can act on a no-win, no-fee basis for eligible personal injury matters; that is a condition on which it acts and is described as such.

Common local situations

What we see locally

Counting from the wrong day

People count from the day they decided to do something about the injury, or from the day they were told how bad it was.

The notice periods generally run from the incident or from the first appearance of symptoms, whichever the scheme provides, and the one-month period runs from first instructing a lawyer. A gradual-onset injury, a back that worsened over months on a warehouse floor, has a start date that has to be worked out rather than assumed.

We fix the dates at the case assessment from the records: the incident report, the first medical attendance, the first symptoms, and the date of instruction. Everything else follows from those.

Not realising the six-month WorkCover period is separate

An injured worker is being treated, the employer knows, and nobody has said the word "application".

The workers' compensation application is generally to be made within six months of the injury, and the employer's knowledge is not the application. Statutory benefits, which do not require proof of fault, depend on it.

We make sure the application is lodged within the period, and we advise separately on whether a common law damages claim, which does require fault, is open on the facts.

Seeing a lawyer late and then waiting again

The first appointment feels like the step, and the notice is assumed to follow in its own time.

Under the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act and the CTP scheme, the notice must generally be given within one month of first instructing a lawyer if that comes before the nine months. Instructing a lawyer starts a clock.

Where the scheme and the respondent are clear, the notice is prepared promptly after instruction. Where the respondent is not yet known, the work to identify them starts the same day.

Notice sent to the wrong party

The obvious party, the shop, the employer, the other driver, is not always the party the scheme requires.

A CTP claim is against the vehicle's insurer, and a Personal Injuries Proceedings Act notice goes to the person or entity a proceeding would be brought against, which in a centre, a car park or a complex may be a manager, a contractor, a body corporate or a council. Notice to the wrong party does not stop the clock for the right one.

We identify the correct respondent from the records before the notice goes, so the period is met against the party that matters.

Being told it is too late

A friend, an insurer or an employer says the time has passed, and the injured person takes it as final.

The notice periods and the limitation period are different things, and whether a late notice can still be given depends on the scheme and the facts. What is certain is that doing nothing further makes every position worse.

We look at the actual dates and the actual scheme before anyone concludes anything, and we say plainly what is and is not still open.

A child injured, and a family that assumes the matter is closed

A child hurt at school, in a playground or as a passenger recovers, and the family moves on.

Under the Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld), for a person injured as a child the three-year period for a court action runs from their eighteenth birthday. The notice periods under each scheme are a separate question. The claim may be open long after the family thought it was closed.

We advise on both sets of dates for a child's injury, the scheme notice and the limitation period, so the family can decide what to do with the time it actually has.

Personal injury services

How we can help

Motor vehicle accident claims

Compulsory third party (CTP) claims for people injured in motor vehicle accidents in Queensland, including drivers, passengers, motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians. The scheme is regulated by the Motor Accident Insurance Commission and begins with a Notice of Accident Claim Form given to the CTP insurer.

The notice period runs whether the crash was on the Bruce Highway or a suburban street, and it has a one-month limb that starts when you first instruct a lawyer. The dates are fixed at the case assessment before the form is prepared.

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Workplace and WorkCover injury claims

Queensland workers' compensation matters can involve statutory benefits such as weekly payments, medical and rehabilitation expenses and a lump sum for assessed permanent impairment, which do not require proving fault, and a separate common law damages claim, which does. The scheme is administered through WorkCover Queensland and WorkSafe Queensland.

Six months is the shortest period of the three schemes, and the employer knowing about the injury is not the application. On building sites, in the industrial belt and on the district's farms, gradual-onset injuries make the start date a question in itself.

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Public liability claims

Claims for injuries in shops, car parks, footpaths, rental properties, schools and other places, run under the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld), which requires a Part 1 Notice of Claim to be given to the person or entity a proceeding would be brought against.

Nine months from the incident or the first symptoms, or one month from instructing a lawyer, whichever comes first, and the notice has to reach the correct respondent, which in the retail corridor and the district's unit complexes is established from records rather than assumed.

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Where to find us

Our offices

Birtinya

Regatta 1 Business Centre, 2 Innovation Pkwy, Birtinya QLD 4575

By appointment only

1300 209 997

Caboolture

Unit 3, 9 East Street, Caboolture QLD 4510

Monday to Friday, 9:00am–5:00pm

1300 209 997

Redcliffe

Level 1, 133 Redcliffe Parade, Redcliffe QLD 4020

Tuesday to Friday, 9:00am–5:00pm

07 3284 9666

Catton Roderick Lawyers

Phone
1300 209 997
Book a case assessment
Good to know

Frequently asked questions

Do you have an office in Caboolture?

Yes. Catton Roderick Lawyers works from Unit 3, 9 East Street, Caboolture QLD 4510, open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm. It is the office behind every Moreton Bay personal-injury page in this section. The firm also has an office at Redcliffe and sees Sunshine Coast clients by appointment at Birtinya. Call 1300 209 997 or use the contact page.

How long do I have to make an injury claim in Queensland?

It depends on the scheme. A Personal Injuries Proceedings Act notice must generally be given within nine months of the incident or the first appearance of symptoms, or within one month of first instructing a lawyer, whichever comes first. The CTP scheme has its own nine-month and one-month periods. A workers' compensation application is generally to be made within six months. A court action for damages is generally to be started within three years. These are general statutory periods, not a personal deadline.

Does seeing a lawyer really start a clock?

Under the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act and the CTP scheme, yes: the notice must generally be given within one month of first instructing a lawyer where that falls before the nine months. That is why the notice is prepared promptly after instruction rather than left for later.

When does the period start for an injury that came on gradually?

The notice periods generally run from the incident or from the first appearance of symptoms, so for a gradual-onset injury the start date has to be worked out from the medical and incident records rather than assumed. It is one of the first things settled at the case assessment.

My employer knows I was hurt. Is that my WorkCover claim?

No. An application for compensation is generally to be made within six months of the injury, and the employer's knowledge is not the application. Statutory benefits depend on the application being made; a separate common law damages claim, if one is open, has its own steps.

Is it too late if I missed a date?

Not necessarily, and not something to decide on a friend's or an insurer's say-so. Whether a late notice can still be given depends on the scheme and the facts, and the notice periods and the three-year limitation period are different things. The only way to know is to look at the actual dates against the actual scheme.

Which locality page should I read?

Each of the twelve Moreton Bay localities has its own page written around one legal question: the respondent in Morayfield, no-fault benefits in Caboolture South, the CTP insurer in Bellmere, the Nominal Defendant in Elimbah, one crash and two schemes in Moodlu, the occupier's duty in Rocksberg, a claim with no lost wages in Beachmere, the child limitation rule in Ningi, and the same range across Upper Caboolture, Burpengary, Burpengary East and Wamuran. Start with the one for where you live, or start here and call.

Get in touch

If you have been injured in the Caboolture district, the useful first step is to find out which scheme applies and which dates are running, and both can be settled at a case assessment on East Street. Catton Roderick Lawyers acts in motor vehicle accident, workplace and WorkCover, and public liability claims across Moreton Bay. Phone 1300 209 997 or use the contact page. This page is general information about how Queensland's injury schemes and their time limits work, not advice about your own claim, and nothing on it predicts an outcome.

Book a case assessment Call 1300 209 997
1300 209 997 info@cattonroderick.com.au
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Personal Injury

For more information about our professional legal services or a free quote, call our friendly team today on 1300 209 997.

Business information

Address: Unit 3, 9 East Street, Caboolture, QLD 4510

Phone: 1300 209 997

Business Hours

Caboolture – Mon to Fri - 9am to 5pm - Closed Sat, Sun,

Redcliffe – Tues to Fri – 9am to 5pm - Closed Sat, Sun, Mon

Sunshine Coast - By Appointment Only

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