Injury compensation lawyers for the Gold Coast

Who we act for on the Gold Coast

We act for Gold Coast residents, people who work on the Gold Coast, and visitors injured there, including people on holiday from interstate or overseas. Our offices are at Eight Mile Plains (Level 2, 8 Clunies Ross Court) and in Brisbane City (by appointment). We can meet at our office, at your home, or wherever you feel is most convenient, and we can also work with you by phone or video. We act in English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka or Malay.

Car, motorcycle and e-scooter accidents

If another vehicle caused your injuries, the claim is made against that vehicle's CTP insurer, not against the driver personally. It starts with a Notice of Accident Claim Form, which must be given within nine months of the accident (or of symptoms first appearing), or within one month of first meeting a lawyer about the claim, whichever is earlier. Where the vehicle cannot be identified, for example a driver who left the scene, the claim is against the Nominal Defendant and the notice is due within three months.

A crash must be reported to police where someone is injured and needs medical attention, where a driver will not give their details, or where a vehicle is towed away. If anyone is hurt or in danger, call 000. Where someone was injured and police did not attend, report the crash at a police station; Policelink on 131 444 and online reporting are for crashes where nobody was hurt. Keep the police reference number (the QP number), as the CTP insurer will ask for it.

E-scooters need particular care on the Gold Coast. The Queensland Government states that you do not currently need registration or insurance to ride a legal personal mobility device, so there is no CTP policy behind an e-scooter. A rider hit by a car claims against the car's CTP insurer in the usual way. A pedestrian hit by an e-scooter rider has no CTP claim, and any claim is against the rider (or an insurer that covers the rider) under the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002. Riders must wear an approved helmet, and from 31 August 2026 must generally be at least 16 and hold a driver licence, with some exemptions.

Injured at work on the Gold Coast

Workers injured in the course of their work in Queensland can apply for WorkCover benefits whoever was at fault. The application should be lodged within six months of the injury, or of first seeing a doctor about it. Accepted claims cover weekly payments while you cannot work and reasonable medical and rehabilitation costs. If your employer, or someone the employer is responsible for, was negligent, a separate damages claim may also be available.

In the 2021 Census, the most common industries of employment for Gold Coast residents were hospitals (4.8 per cent of employed people) and cafes and restaurants (3.1 per cent), followed by supermarkets, takeaway food services and aged care. Injuries in these workplaces, from lifting and manual handling to slips in kitchens and psychological injuries, are covered by the same WorkCover rules as any other job. Casual, part-time and labour hire workers are covered too.

Falls in public places and on council land

If you were hurt because of a hazard someone should have fixed, the claim is a public liability claim against whoever was responsible for the place. On the Gold Coast that might be a shopping centre, a venue, a holiday apartment building, a theme park or other attraction operator, or the City of Gold Coast itself for land it manages. The City says it maintains more than 3,200 kilometres of roads. State-controlled roads, such as the Pacific Motorway (M1), are the responsibility of the Department of Transport and Main Roads, so a claim about one of those roads goes to the department rather than the council.

The claim starts with a Notice of Claim under the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002, given to the party responsible. It must be given within nine months of the incident (or of symptoms first appearing), or within one month of first instructing a lawyer to act on the claim, whichever is earlier. Court proceedings must generally be started within three years of the injury. Photographs of the hazard, the names of witnesses and any incident report made at the time are the most useful evidence.

Treatment and your medical records

Gold Coast Health runs the public hospitals on the Gold Coast, including Gold Coast University Hospital at 1 Hospital Boulevard, Southport, and Robina Hospital at 2 Bayberry Lane, Robina. Both have emergency departments.

Your hospital records are often the first evidence of what happened and how you were hurt. You have the right to apply for access to your records held by Gold Coast Health, using its Application to access records held by GCHHS. With your signed authority, we can request them for you, along with records from your GP, physiotherapist or other treating practitioners.

Languages spoken at home on the Gold Coast

The 2021 Census counted 625,087 people in the City of Gold Coast. English only was used at home by 80.3 per cent of people, and a language other than English was used in 17.3 per cent of households. The most common other languages used at home were:

• Mandarin: 11,721 people (1.9 per cent)
• Japanese: 5,952 people (1.0 per cent)
• Portuguese: 5,153 people (0.8 per cent)
• Spanish: 5,002 people (0.8 per cent)
• Korean: 3,772 people (0.6 per cent)

Meeting with us

Our main office is at Level 2, 8 Clunies Ross Court, Eight Mile Plains, on the Pacific Motorway (M1) corridor between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. We can meet at our office, at your home, or wherever you feel is most convenient, or speak by phone or video. The first consultation is free.

Fees

No win, no fee. Our professional fees are only payable if the claim succeeds. We fund the outlays needed to run the claim, and in most cases they are not payable if the claim is unsuccessful. The situations where they become payable are set out in the costs agreement, which we explain in writing before you sign anything.