How We Can Help
Expert Advice
Our expertise is grounded in our experience acting for people injured in accidents of every sort – work accidents, motor vehicle collisions, slip and fall, medical negligence, product liability, diving accidents, and any other situation where an injury has occurred because of another person’s negligence.
Time limits
Strict time limits apply to all claims.
To ensure you do not lose your entitlement, it is important that you contact us as soon as possible to discuss your claim.
Free initial consultation
If you have been injured in any way, we are happy to talk to you about making a claim. Whenever possible, we prefer to do this face to face so that you can meet one of our principals and properly discuss your potential claim. If we are unable to assist you or you decide not to proceed, we will not charge you for that initial consultation.
Our fees
During our initial consultation we will discuss the basis upon which we charge for our services. Many firms advertise that they act on a “no win, no fee” basis. MurphySchmidt does not use that term.
We will usually agree to act on a speculative basis. This means we will only charge you for our professional fees if and when your claim is successfully finalised.
We do not charge uplift fees and our fixed fee arrangements ensure complete transparancy.
We look forward to speaking with you.
General Queries FAQs
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We service all areas of Queensland and act for people throughout Australia and internationally. We understand it is not always possible for you to travel to meet with us. We can discuss your claim by phone or video-link to suit your needs, or our directors and solicitors will gladly make arrangements to travel to see you wherever you might be.
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It is impossible for us to say without knowing more about you and your claim. Relevant factors include how and when the incident happened, the severity of your injuries, your age, and whether the insurer disputes liability for your claim. All of these factors (and many others) will influence how long it takes for your claim to be finalised.
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Many firms advertise that they act on a “no win, no fee” basis. MurphySchmidt does not use that term as it can be inaccurate and misleading. We act on a speculative basis. This means you will not be asked to pay our professional fees unless and until your claim is successfully finalised. Our fixed fee arrangements ensure complete transparency, and you will not be charged any uplift fees.
We will require reimbursement of any costs or outlays we pay on your behalf if you claim is not successful. We will provide you with an estimate of those costs and outlays in our Costs Agreement and will not incur significant costs and outlays without first discussing it with you.
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Our costs will be reasonable – we will discuss them with you in detail before you instruct us to act on your behalf and provide you with a Costs Agreement . We are happy to answer any questions you might have about our costs and strongly recommend you seek independent legal advice about the Costs Agreement before you sign it.
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The first consultation with a director is an obligation-free chance to discuss your situation and identify your needs. You will not be charged for this meeting if you decide not to proceed with your claim. The most important objective from that first consultation is for you to understand how we can help you and to decide whether you wish to entrust us with your claim.
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We do not recommend litigation lending or disbursement funding. Litigation lending and disbursement funding is when a firm provides or organizes a financial facility which will meet your legal expenses during the course of your claim. Entering into such an arrangement will rarely be in your best interests and it is often difficult to find out whether and how your lawyers are benefitting from the arrangement.
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We do not charge uplift fees. Uplift fees are charged by some lawyers in addition to their usual professional fees. The amount of an uplift fee is usually an unspecified percentage of those professional fees.
