Why Ignorance is Not Bliss

Let me tell you about Bob…. Bob is a 35 year old electrician living in Deception Bay, QLD with his wife and family. Bob loves a beer or two, particularly after a hard day’s work on site. It was a Thursday evening and Bob decided to go to the pub. Being the responsible bloke his is, Bob left his car at home and walked down to the pub. Bob had about four schooners when his wife phoned to tell him dinner was ready. He finished his beer (because leaving a half full schooner at the pub in front of his mates is asking for trouble) and walk home. Bob was hit by a car on his way home. The car mounted the footpath, at speed, hitting Bob and then sped off. Bob called his wife to tell her he had been hit by a car.

“Likely story” she says, “knocked over while walking home from the pub? Sure thing”.

Arriving at the scene, Bob’s wife reviews his extensive injuries and immediately calls an ambulance. Bob suffered a compound fracture to his right leg, so much so, that the bone pierced his skin and also tore through his heavy King Gee trousers. Bob’s immediate thought was…

“I won’t be able to work for a few months. How the #@!* am I going to be able to afford that Bali holiday I promised the kids at Christmas”

MCW Legal is part of a well-established law firms that’s been in operation since 1975. Last year we were listed as a first tier, leading personal services firm. We also won nine other awards from Doyle’s Guide for plaintiff insurance work. We help people like Bob deal with the uncertainty of lost incomes every day by providing them with information about the law of negligence. For example, McLean v Nominal Defendant [2012] closely resembles Bob’s situation. The first step we would take is to provide Bob with a worksheet that will enable him to quickly calculate his lost earnings as a result of his broken leg. This enables Bob to make a decision about whether compensation is an appropriate step in replacing his income. A copy of this same worksheet is available to download below.   As a result, Bob discovered his lost income was $120,000. Had Bob not done these calculations it is highly likely that he would have never decided to seek insurance for his set-back and never been able to take his family to Bali. From lying roadside thinking….

“How am I going to keep food on the table?”

Bob found himself three weeks later cooking eye fillet on the BBQ telling his mates it was all sorted.