Income Protection & Disablement Claims
If you are unable to work because of illness or injury, you may be able to access income replacement payments or lump sum disablement benefits through insurance you have organized yourself or policies attached to your superannuation fund.
You may have already applied for benefits and your application rejected by the insurer.
If you are unable to work because of illness or injury contact 07 3303 9800 and speak to a principal of MurphySchmidt.
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.
Income Protection & Disablement Claims FAQs
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No, you can handle the claim yourself.
However, insurers have extensive experience in defending income protection and disablement claims and will often instruct lawyers to act on their behalf. Insurers cannot provide you with independent advice. You may find yourself at a disadvantage if you do not have legal representation.
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Only if you need to take action in court to enforce your right to benefits. Otherwise, no.
Even if the insurer is required to pay something towards your costs, it will not cover your entire costs. The difference will be paid from your settlement or judgment monies. We will discuss this with you in detail when we give you our initial Costs Agreement and before you instruct us to act on your behalf.
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This is impossible to say without knowing a lot more about you and your claim. Some relevant factors include:
- the type of insurance policy you have.
- the severity and extent of your injuries or condition – it is unlikely an insurer will make a decision about disablement insurance until your injuries or condition are stable and stationary.
- whether the insurer disputes liability for your claim.
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It may be necessary to issue court proceedings if the insurer rejects an application for benefits. Claims are very rarely decided by a judge. Even if proceedings are issued in court, claims frequently settle before reaching trial.
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If we think you have reasonable prospects of success, we will usually agree to act on a speculative basis. That means we will not charge for our professional fees unless and until your claim is successfully finalised.
We do require payment of any costs or outlays (eg. medico-legal reports from a specialist) incurred on your behalf, even if your claim is not successful. We will not incur significant outlays without first discussing it with you. An estimate of outlays will be provided in our Costs Agreement.
Our costs will be reasonable – we will discuss them with you in detail before you instruct us to act on your behalf and will enter into a Costs Agreement with you. We strongly recommend you seek independent legal advice about the Costs Agreement before you sign it.
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If you have an injury or illness which prevents you from working, you may be able to claim for income protection or disablement benefits. Similarly, if someone close to you has died, it may be possible to claim life insurance.
This sort of insurance cover is often organised and provided by your superannuation fund. You might not even know you have the cover. Alternatively, you might have taken out a policy yourself.
We can assist you to determine whether you have insurance and, if so, help you to make a claim for benefits.
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An application needs to be made to the relevant insurer. Time limits can apply – you need to get expert advice now about the time limits which might apply to you.
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It is impossible even to estimate the amount of your claim without knowing a lot more about you and your policy. Benefits might include:
- Loss of income
- A lump sum payment for total and permanent disablement
- Life insurance
- Carer’s allowance
- Nursing expenses
Contact Us
- Office 130 Mary Street, Brisbane
- Postal PO Box 15317, Brisbane 4002
- Phone 07 3303 9800
- Fax 07 3303 9888
- Email info@murphyschmidt.com.au