Will I have to go to court?
A frequently asked question.
PROBABLY NOT.
Most Queenslanders think making a compensation claim is hard.
So hard that almost 200,000 people think about making a compensation claim every year but don’t.
So, what’s causing this compensation claim reluctance?
It seems that people’s reluctance to compensation claims is due to a multitude of factors, including having to go to Court.
The words ‘Court Proceedings” can send shudders down the spines of most Australians.
It’s a hassle most of us can agree we would just rather not have to go through.
Thankfully, the truth is...
Most Cases Don't make it to court, ever.
Yep, that’s correct.
The vast majority of compensation cases will settle without ever going to trial.
In the second half of 2016, exactly zero cases went to court in Queensland.
That means, 2144 compensation claimants were able to successfully come to an agreement with the insurer rather than escalating it to trial.
In the entire financial year of 2015/16, only 20 out of close to 7,000 compensation claims went to Court.
And it’s been on a downwards trend since 2012 too. See below the statistics on the number of compensation claims that went to Court in Queensland from MAIC.
How you can avoid going to court...
By using evidence pressure. Plain and simple.
The reason there has been a downwards trend in the number of compensation claims that go to trial is because plaintiffs (that’s you) are getting smarter.
They are using their evidence building skills to create irrefutable compensation claims.
In Queensland, you won’t automatically be compensated if you are injured in an accident. You must prove that the other party (e.g. the other driver) is at fault for the accident.
It’s a game of persuasion. If you can gather compelling and irrefutable evidence, you give the insurer’s no choice but to settle.
The fact of the matter is going to trial is expensive and ultimately insurance companies are a business.
Typically, insurers will try to avoid going to court because it would simply cost them too much to go to Court, only to lose.
What if your are one of the 20 that does have to go to court?
There is a very small chance that you may be one of the very few cases that does have to go to trial.
Every case is unique.
So, in a rare turn of events, your case may be particularly tricky, have a complication, or the insurer might just not play ball.
In these cases, escalating your compensation claim to Court might just be the difference between $25,000 in compensation and $125,000.