Uniform Civil Rules 2020 (SA) and Personal Injury

The Uniform Civil Rules 2020 (the Rule) came into effect in South Australia on 18 May 2020. The Rule replaces civil procedure rules in South Australia which are previously governed different Courts: Magistrates Court Rules 1992, District Court Civil Rules 2006, Supreme Court Civil Rules 2006, District Court Civil Supplementary Rules 2014 and Supreme Court Civil Supplementary Rules 2014.

Personal Injury Matters

While many procedures have been carried over from the old rules, there have been a number of significant changes. One of the most significant changes has been addition of various pre-action steps.

For personal injury, these pre-action steps are different to other claims:

1. Written Notice – A person wishing to bring a personal injury claim (applicant) must serve on the potentially liable person (respondent) a written notice of injury within 6 monthsof the incident giving rise to the injury and if he applicant is not aware that they have suffered personal injury or that the injury has caused material loss or damage, the timeframe to serve a written notice is extended until one month after the person becomes aware.

2. Pre-action Claim - Before commencing a claim in the Court the applicant must have served on the respondent a pre-action claim setting out detailed information about the applicant, the basis for the claim, providing expert reports, making an offer to settle and proposing a date, time and location for a pre-action meeting.

The Court will list the matter for a special directions hearing if pre-action steps are not complied with, and the defaulting party can be ordered to pay the other parties' costs of the special directions hearing and costs thrown away by reason of the breach on an indemnity basis forthwith.

If you would like to know more about personal injury claims and how you could protect your rights and interest, simply email us at info@straitslawyers.com or call at 08 8410 9069 to arrange an appointment.

Alternatively, you can book an online consultation with us via this link: https://straits-lawyers.square.site/product/online-consultation-/11?cs=true

Please note that this article does not constitute legal advice and Straits Lawyers will not be legally responsible for any actions you take based on this article.