Slip, trip and fall accidents
Wet floors, uneven surfaces, poor lighting, or unmarked hazards.
Public Liability Lawyers Newcastle
No Win, No Fee
Local to Newcastle
Strong Since 1987
Injured somewhere that wasn’t your fault – a shopping centre, a supermarket, a rental property, a café? You’re probably wondering whether you actually have a claim, and who you’re even supposed to chase. It can be especially stressful when the injury affects your ability to function, earn an income, and navigate the day-to-day. This is where our team steps in to help.
Whitelaw McDonald has represented injured people across Newcastle and the Hunter for over 40 years.
Find Out Where You Stand
Talk to us about whether you have a claim and get some free advice. No obligations.
What is a public liability or “slip and fall” claim?
Public liability covers injuries caused by someone else’s negligence in a public or private place – anywhere from a supermarket to a rental home to a shop or cafe.
To have a claim, you generally need to show that:
- The person, business, or authority responsible for the property owed you a duty of care
- They breached that duty – by failing to take reasonable precautions against a foreseeable risk of harm
- That breach caused your injury
If a shop owner leaves a spill unattended or a landlord ignores a broken step, and you’re injured as a result, you may have grounds for a claim. Businesses, property owners, and public authorities are generally required to carry public liability insurance – so in most cases, it’s their insurer who pays, not the individual or business itself.
Our Principal Director Matthew Berenger Has Special Interest in Public Liability
Career highlights include representing a client who sustained a severe injury in a shopping centre, fighting and winning the case in the High Court of Australia. Won in 2012, this case continues to be used as a precedent for public liability cases today.
How much compensation could I get?
This is usually the first question people ask, and it’s a fair one – but it’s impossible to answer accurately without knowing the details of your situation. What you may be entitled to depends on the nature and severity of your injuries, the strength of the evidence of negligence, your medical and care needs, and the extent to which fault (if any) is shared.
Broadly, compensation in a successful public liability claim may cover:
- Pain and suffering (non-economic loss)
- Past and future medical and treatment expenses
- Past and future loss of income and earning capacity
- Past and future costs of care and domestic assistance
We don’t publish figures or estimates – anyone who does before reviewing your specific circumstances isn’t giving you an accurate picture. What we can do is sit down with you, walk through your situation, and give you a realistic sense of your position. That conversation is free and comes with no obligation.
Not Sure if You Have a Claim?
Not a problem – get in touch with our team, or use our free online claim check form.
What kind of situations does public liability cover?
Public liability claims come up in more situations than people expect. If your situation doesn’t fit neatly into one of these categories, don’t assume that rules you out. Public liability is a broad area of law – get in touch and we’ll tell you plainly whether you have a claim. Common circumstances we help clients with include:
Supermarkets and shopping centres
Spills, obstructed aisles, faulty trolleys or equipment.
Restaurants, cafés and hotels
Hazards on the premises, including in car parks and entryways.
Rental and private properties
A landlord’s failure to maintain safe premises, or a hazard at a friend or family member’s home.
Gyms and fitness centres
Unsafe equipment or inadequate supervision.
Dog attacks and animal injuries
Injuries caused by dog attacks or other animal incidents.
Why clients choose Whitelaw McDonald
A genuine public liability track record.
Principal Director Matthew Berenger is an Accredited Specialist in Personal Injury with nearly 30 years’ experience. Career highlights include representing a client injured in a shopping centre and winning the case in the High Court of Australia in 2012 – a decision that continues to be used as a precedent in public liability cases today.
We’re local – and we stay local.
Our Newcastle office is in Kotara, directly opposite Westfield Kotara, so we’re easy to find and easy to get to. We’re not a multinational firm with a satellite office here – we’re Newcastle born and based, and every case is handled by lawyers who live in this community.
Over 40 years of runs on the board.
Ross Whitelaw and John McDonald founded this firm in 1987. Since then, our team has recovered tens of millions of dollars for local people and their families.
No Win, No Fee.
You don’t pay us unless we win your claim. We’ll explain exactly how costs work for your specific situation during your free first conversation, so there are no surprises.
A free, no-obligation first conversation.
Before anything else, we’ll sit down with you and talk honestly about whether you have a claim, and what your options are. No pressure, no charge.
Most claims resolve without ever going to court.
The vast majority of public liability matters are settled through negotiation with the responsible party’s insurer. We prepare every case as if it might go the distance, which is exactly why most don’t need to.
Our Public Liability Lawyers
Time limits apply for a public liability claim in NSW
Public liability claims in NSW are governed by the Limitation Act 1969 (NSW), and the time limits are less straightforward than a fixed date.
- The standard time limit is 3 years from the date your claim becomes “discoverable” – broadly, the point where you knew, or reasonably should have known, that you were injured, that the injury was caused by someone else’s fault, and that it was serious enough to justify a claim. To be safe, treat the date of your accident as the starting point of the three-year period, even though the clock may technically start later.
- There is also a 12-year long-stop limit, running from the date of the incident itself, after which a claim generally cannot be brought at all – regardless of when the injury was discovered.
Even though the time limit is longer than for a car accident or workplace injury claim, waiting isn’t in your interest. Evidence like CCTV footage, incident reports and witness memories degrade quickly, often within weeks. The sooner you get advice, the stronger your position.
What our clients say
“I cannot recommend Kyah from Whitelaw McDonald property team highly enough. She was prompt, professional, and incredibly thorough. Every step of the was handled efficiently and with great attention to detail, making the experience completely seamless.
Her communication was excellent — always responsive, clear, an proactive in keeping me informed. I truly felt like evrything was taken care of, and I had complete confidence in her work throughout.
If you’re looking for a solicitor who is reliable and genuinely cares about getting things done right, look no further.”
Kiani D.
“I would like to sincerely thank you for all the hard work you put into my compensation claim. With your professional, knowledgeable, caring and ability to explain, whilst keeping me calm has been outstanding. You are a credit to your profession. It has been an absolute pleasure to communicate with both John and Craig. I am now relieved that this is behind me and can really concentrate on getting myself fully recovered. Once again, many thanks.”
John S.
“Very capable firm with a knowledgeable team.”
Naomi S
What is the claims process like for public liability?
1
Report the incident
Report it to the business, property manager, landlord or relevant authority, and ask for it to be logged.
2
Get medical treatment and keep records
Documentation from the time of your injury is some of the strongest evidence you’ll have.
3
Gather evidence early
Photos of the hazard, witness contact details, and a request for CCTV footage before it’s deleted.
4
Get legal advice
We assess whether you have a viable claim, and against whom, at no cost to you.
5
We identify the responsible party
We identify the responsible party and their insurer, and prepare and lodge your claim.
6
Negotiate or resolve
Most public liability matters settle through negotiation with the insurer, without going to court.
How long does it take?
Every claim moves at a different pace, depending on how clear liability is and the severity of your injuries. As a general guide:
- Straightforward claims – where negligence is clear and injuries are relatively minor – are often resolved within several months to around a year.
- More complex or disputed claims – involving contested liability, multiple potentially responsible parties, or more serious injuries – can take longer, particularly if your condition needs time to stabilise before a fair assessment can be made.
There’s no way to give an accurate timeframe without knowing your situation, but we’ll always be upfront with you about where your claim stands and what to expect next.
Injured at someone’s home? You may still have a claim.
A lot of people assume public liability only applies to businesses and public spaces – but homeowners owe visitors a duty of care too, just like a shop or landlord does. If you were injured because of a hazard on someone’s private property – a broken step, a loose railing, an unsafe pool area – you may have grounds for a claim, even if it happened at a friend or family member’s home.
This is often where people hesitate, worrying they’d be making a claim against someone they know personally. In practice, most homeowners’ liability is covered as standard through their home and contents insurance, so even if the incident occurred at your friend or family member’s home, it’s worth getting advice.
Not sure who was at fault? You may still have a claim.
Fault isn’t always obvious straight after an accident. You might not know whether it was the business, the landlord, or a contractor who was responsible – and sometimes more than one party shares the blame. You don’t need to have this sorted out before you contact us.
Establishing who owed you a duty of care and who breached it is part of what we do. This can include reviewing incident reports, requesting CCTV footage, obtaining maintenance records, and gathering witness statements. Claims involving council or state authority land carry their own added complexity – public authorities are sometimes granted specific statutory protections – so it’s worth getting advice early if your accident happened on public land.
Where to Find Us
Our Newcastle office is located at 5/76 Park Ave, Kotara NSW 2289, directly opposite Westfield Kotara, so we’re easy to find. We’re close to public transport, and there is plenty of parking nearby.
We have a wheelchair-accessible entrance including a ramp and an elevator. In addition, if you can’t come to us, we also offer home and hospital visits.
Whitelaw McDonald is passionate about serving and winning for our local communities, with offices in Newcastle and the Central Coast.
If you would like an obligation-free consultation to see how we can best help you, or simply have questions, get in touch using our contact form or call 02 4941 8999.
Frequently Asked Questions
A public liability claim covers injuries caused by someone else’s negligence in a public or private place. For example: a shop, café, rental property, gym, or council land. It’s different from a workplace injury or a motor vehicle accident, which are covered under different schemes.
Report the incident to the business, property manager or relevant authority and ask for it to be logged, seek medical attention, and gather evidence where you can – photos of the hazard, witness details, and a request for CCTV footage before it’s deleted. Then get legal advice as early as possible.
Generally yes – the standard limit is 3 years from when your claim becomes “discoverable” (broadly, when you knew or should have known about the injury, fault, and its seriousness), with an absolute 12-year long-stop limit from the date of the incident itself. As a precaution, it’s best to treat the date of the incident as the start of that three-year clock. Different rules can apply for minors. It’s best to get advice early, since evidence like CCTV footage degrades quickly even though the legal time limit is longer than for some other claim types.
Yes – you need to show they owed you a duty of care, breached that duty by failing to take reasonable precautions against a foreseeable risk, and that this caused your injury. We handle this investigation and evidence-gathering for you.
Often, yes. NSW law allows for contributory negligence, meaning your compensation may be reduced in proportion to your share of responsibility, rather than your claim being ruled out entirely. Get in touch and we’ll assess your specific situation.
In most cases, it’s the responsible party’s public liability insurer, not the business or individual directly. Most businesses, landlords, and public authorities in NSW are required to carry this insurance.
You may still have a claim, but these cases can involve additional complexity, as public authorities have specific statutory protections under NSW law. This is exactly the kind of claim where early legal advice makes a real difference.
Most public liability claims are resolved through negotiation with the insurer rather than in court. We prepare every case as if it might go the distance, which is part of why most don’t need to.
We act on a No Win, No Fee basis. You don’t pay us unless we win your claim. We’ll explain exactly how costs work for your situation during your free initial consultation.
That’s exactly what your free case assessment is for. Public liability covers a wide range of situations, and it’s often not obvious from the outset whether you have a claim. Get in touch and we’ll tell you plainly, one way or the other.
