William Pout and Henry Carus + Associates

The Story about this Public Liability Claim

William came to Henry Carus + Associates a few years after his accident. He was renting a home at the time of the accident and fell through an external staircase, suffering a severe shoulder injury. According to William, the wooden staircase had rotted and, although he and his partner had complained about it, the owner of the property had done nothing about it.

A maintenance man by trade, the shoulder injury affected William’s capacity to work. Thankfully his employer let him have modified duties to allow him to stay in employment.

We issued against the owner of the property, and the insurer and their solicitors took a very aggressive position. They asserted that the accident did not happen at all, and that our client was essentially a “compensation gold digger” as he had a history of WorkCover claims.

We investigated the scene of the accident and the stairs, the client’s WorkCover history, his family’s recollection of the accident and we spoke to his employer. Our views were that he was a genuine, hard working person who was trying to live with his injuries as best he could.

We were met with no offers at two mediations, along with no sensible discussions concerning settlement prior to the trial in the matter.

After listening to our client, his son, his partner, his employer, and their own client, the Defendant moved quickly to settle the matter for $450,000, and such gave William a chance to move on with his life.

The battle lasted over two years, and we never gave up fighting for William during that time.

Dear Henry, Thanks to you today, I am smiling from the inside. This is something I have not done for far too long. I would like to thank you for having the faith and courage to take my case on. I would without hesitation recommend your services to anyone in a similar position. The stress of legal action in itself is enough. To have a law firm that didn’t add to that stress was a blessing. From the moment I entered your office, with your professional yet humane attitude, I felt an assured confidence with my choice of Henry Carus and Associates. I would also like to give thanks to the great team you put together. Their dedication and effort over the years made for a successful outcome. Because of you and the team, I can now with less financial stress concentrate on getting my life back on track. Big thanks to all. William

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