How public liability payouts are calculated
Australian public liability damages are calculated head-by-head, then the total is adjusted for any contributory negligence (your percentage of responsibility for the injury). The principal heads:
- Past economic loss - actual income lost from injury date to settlement, including super.
- Future economic loss - loss of earning capacity to retirement age, actuarially calculated and discounted to present value.
- Past medical and treatment - all reasonable expenses incurred.
- Future medical and treatment - life-of-claim treatment and aids requirements, expert-evidenced.
- Gratuitous attendant care - care provided by family, valued at commercial rates (subject to state Civil Liability Act thresholds).
- Paid attendant care - for serious injuries requiring formal care.
- General damages (non-economic loss) - pain and suffering, capped under state Civil Liability Acts.
- Modifications and equipment - home, vehicle, accommodation modifications; mobility aids and assistive technology.
A typical mid-range claim of $200,000 might break down as $60k past income loss + $60k future income loss + $30k medical and care + $40k general damages + $10k modifications and out-of-pocket.
Payouts by injury type
| Injury type | Typical payout range |
|---|---|
| Soft-tissue injury, full recovery | $15,000 - $80,000 |
| Soft-tissue with chronic symptoms | $50,000 - $200,000 |
| Wrist/ankle fracture (ORIF surgery) | $80,000 - $250,000 |
| Hip fracture (older adult) | $120,000 - $450,000 |
| Knee or shoulder reconstruction | $100,000 - $350,000 |
| Back injury (disc, fusion surgery) | $150,000 - $700,000 |
| Traumatic brain injury (mild-moderate) | $200,000 - $800,000 |
| Severe traumatic brain injury | $1,500,000 - $6,000,000+ |
| Spinal cord injury (paraplegia) | $3,000,000 - $8,000,000+ |
| Spinal cord injury (quadriplegia) | $5,000,000 - $15,000,000+ |
| Burn injury (minor) | $30,000 - $150,000 |
| Severe burn (skin grafting, scarring) | $200,000 - $1,500,000+ |
| Eye injury / vision loss | $100,000 - $1,000,000+ |
| Limb amputation | $400,000 - $2,500,000+ |
| Psychological injury (mild-moderate) | $30,000 - $200,000 |
| Severe PTSD or chronic depression | $150,000 - $700,000 |
| Fatal injury (dependency claim) | $200,000 - $1,500,000+ |
Payouts by venue / cause
Slip, trip and fall
- Supermarket slip on wet floor (minor): $15,000 - $80,000.
- Supermarket slip with fracture or surgery: $80,000 - $400,000.
- Shopping centre slip with permanent restriction: $150,000 - $700,000.
- Footpath trip (council claim): $20,000 - $250,000 (subject to road authority defences).
- Restaurant or cafe slip: $25,000 - $200,000.
- Defective stairs or balcony fall: $80,000 - $1,500,000+.
- Pool slip / drowning incident: $50,000 - $3,000,000+.
Dog attacks
- Dog bite with stitches, no permanent scar: $10,000 - $40,000.
- Dog attack with facial scarring (adult): $50,000 - $300,000.
- Dog attack on a child with facial scarring: $80,000 - $500,000+.
- Severe mauling (multiple wounds, surgery, PTSD): $200,000 - $800,000+.
- Loss of sight or limb amputation from attack: $400,000 - $2,000,000+.
Defective products and Australian Consumer Law
- Faulty appliance fire causing burns: $50,000 - $600,000.
- Contaminated food (food poisoning): $5,000 - $80,000.
- Defective vehicle component: $100,000 - $1,500,000+.
- Children's product injury (toy, cot, pram): $30,000 - $500,000+.
- Pharmaceutical or medical device defect: $80,000 - $2,000,000+ (often run as class actions).
School and childcare
- Schoolyard injury (inadequate supervision): $30,000 - $200,000.
- School sports injury (no proper risk management): $50,000 - $400,000.
- Childcare injury with permanent harm: $80,000 - $600,000+.
- Bullying with psychological injury (school failed to act): $50,000 - $300,000+.
Hotel, Airbnb and travel
- Hotel pool injury: $30,000 - $500,000+.
- Balcony or stairway fall: $80,000 - $2,000,000+.
- Bedbug or mould injury: $5,000 - $60,000.
- Cruise ship injury: Variable; often capped under international convention.
Aged care and disability care
- Pressure injury (preventable, grade 3-4): $50,000 - $400,000.
- Fall with fracture in residential care: $80,000 - $400,000.
- Wandering / elopement injury: $50,000 - $500,000.
- Sexual assault in care (institutional liability): $200,000 - $1,500,000+.
Payout differences by state
The same injury can yield materially different payouts in different states because of varying Civil Liability Act caps and thresholds:
- NSW - General damages capped at maximum amount with 15% threshold of most extreme case. Loss of earnings capped at 3x AWE.
- VIC - 'Significant injury' threshold required for general damages (5% physical / 10% psychiatric WPI). Loss of earnings capped.
- QLD - ISV scale for general damages. No statutory cap on common-law damages - QLD is generally the most plaintiff-favourable state for serious injury claims.
- WA - Caps general damages, with specific reforms for catastrophic injury. Loss of earnings capped at 3x AWE.
- SA - ISV scale. General damages capped.
- TAS, ACT, NT - State-specific civil liability legislation with various caps and thresholds.
Real published Australian settlements
Real cases settled by Australian plaintiff law firms (anonymised at publication; figures as published in firm case-results listings):
- WA wedding venue, severe ankle fracture/dislocation from staircase fall: $225,000
- WA child (11), eye injury at a friend's home, lost sight: $400,000
- WA farm worker struck by tractor, pelvis and leg injuries: $750,000
- NSW industrial cleaner, severe electric shock: $1,250,000
- WA security guard injured by a patron: $525,000
- NSW gym equipment flip, facial injuries: $360,000
- TAS pedestrian tripped on fire hydrant cover, foot fracture: $196,000
- Sydney public space sinkhole / broken concrete, spinal surgery: $2,000,000
- Hospital slip post-surgery, mobility loss + diabetes + psychiatric injury: $500,000
- Sydney footpath jogger, trip on raised concrete: $400,000
- Shopping centre carpark, 72-year-old slipped on painted arrow, knee fracture: $250,000
- Coffee shop chair leg slipped, spinal fusion required: $210,000
How to maximise your payout
- Wait for medical stability. Premature settlement locks in a lower amount before the full impact is clear. Most serious-injury cases settle 18-36 months after injury for this reason.
- Document everything contemporaneously. Treatment dates, restrictions, time off work, costs, photos of the scene and injuries. Specialists value contemporaneous records highly.
- Get the right experts. Vocational experts (for earning capacity loss), occupational therapists (for care needs), economists (for actuarial calculations) can add tens to hundreds of thousands to a claim.
- Don't sign quick early offers. Once you sign a final release, you can't reopen the claim - even for deterioration.
- Use a specialist firm. Industry data suggests specialist personal injury firms achieve outcomes 30-50% better than generalists or self-represented claimants. The right specialist runs claims under your state's Civil Liability Act regularly.
- Investigate all heads of damage. Don't leave economic loss, future treatment, gratuitous care, modifications or future loss of earning capacity off the table.
- Coordinate with other claims. If your injury also gives rise to a TPD claim, workers comp claim or income protection claim, sequence them to maximise net recovery.