Australian Services Union- Authorities and Services Branch

Asbestos is a natural mineral fibre which was used in more than 3,000 Australian building products from the 1940s until 1985, including asbestos or fibro cement sheeting and heat-resistant clothing. Exposure to asbestos fibres and dust can result in diseases, which usually don’t reveal symptoms until decades later. Maurice Blackburn has a team of dedicated asbestos lawyers who can help people suffering from asbestos-related diseases make a claim for compensation.

What do we do?

We assist people who have developed diseases as a consequence of being exposed to noxious substances, including dusts, gases, and fumes, usually in respirable form.

The people we assist have been exposed to noxious substances in a variety of contexts, including occupationally (such as workers who manufactured or worked with toxic substances) and non-occupationally (such as home owners who performed home renovations with building products which contained asbestos).

What types of diseases can you suffer from?

• We bring claims on behalf of clients who suffer from a range of conditions including:
• Pleural/peritoneal Mesothelioma: a rare cancer caused by exposure to asbestos dust.
• Asbestos related pleural disease: a non-malignant condition caused by exposure to asbestos dust.
• Pneumoconiosis: a broad category of dust-induced lung diseases which included: Asbestosis; Bagassosis; Bauxite Fibrosis (“Shaver’s Disease”); Berylliosis; Byssinosis; Coalworker's Pneumoconiosis (“Black Lung Disease"); Hard Metal Pneumoconiosis; Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis (“Farmer’s Lung”); Mixed-Dust Fibrosis; Siderosis; Silicosis; Silico-tuberculosis; and Stannosis.
• Occupational Lung Cancers: various forms of Lung Cancer caused by exposure to noxious substances in an occupational setting.
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: a broad category of lung diseases which includes: Bronchiectasis; Bronchiolitis; Chronic Bronchitis; and Occupational Asthma.

If you or someone in your family has been injured as a result of an aircraft accident, Maurice Blackburn's aviation law experts will give you the best chance of making a successful plane crash compensation claim. Our experienced aviation lawyers will identify the best way to make your claim, and can initiate overseas legal action on your behalf.

What is an aviation or aviation-related matter?

If a matter has any potential defendant or factual element involving aviation, or the airline industry, then it is an ‘aviation or aviation-related’ matter.

This includes death and injury cases involving:

• ‘aircraft’ defined as: A commercial domestic or international airline, foreign airline, scenic flight operation, charter flight operation, aeromedical flight operation, private flight operation, skydiving, aerial craf​t used for work such as crop-dusting, aerial spraying or spotting, mustering, ultralight and recreational/home built aircraft such as ‘RA-Aus’ registered aircraft, experimental aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aircraft (drones) as well as fixed wing aircraft
• where the death or injury occurred at the airport or aerodrome terminal, while embarking the aircraft, onboard, or while disembarking the aircraft (including situations where a passenger is transferring flights)
• any country or pairings of countries (for example, a slip and fall on an aerobridge while embarking a plane at London, for a flight to Dubai)
• situations where the only loss may be psychological, and
• enquiries from relatives of those lost in air disasters and crashes (even where they would not traditionally be thought of as the ‘next of kin’ for the purposes of a dependency claim)

It also involves:

• injuries or significant financial losses brought about by flight delays or cancellations
• matters arising from breaches of or insufficient safety and security at airports or on aircraft (eg terrorist acts at airports)
• injuries and grievances due to discrimination or lack of services for customers with specific needs (eg wheelchair access on a domestic flight), and
• death or injuries in airports.

Aviation law has no geographic limitation. The facts in question may have happened in any state in Australia, or any country in the world, but still should be considered aviation or aviation-related.

Aviation claims can involve elements of workers compensation and associated law – for example, if the injured person was travelling for work, or was an operating member of the flight crew, or even where an employer has chartered a flight to allow its workers to conduct operations such as aerial spotting or transporting people or goods.

Maurice Blackburn’s employment lawyers have a proven track record in providing advice and representation on a wide range of complex legal issues, from negotiating the terms of employment contracts, to enforcing bonus schemes and discretionary entitlements. That’s because our employment law division is recognised nationally as Australia’s leading executive employment law practice.

What do we do?

We provide advice on all aspects of the employment relationship. Some of the areas that we provide advice in relation to include:

• Advice on new or varied contracts of employment, for example a new job or a promotion;
• Workplace bullying;
• Discrimination, for example due to mental illness;
• Workplace investigations;
• Unsatisfactory performance and/or misconduct allegations;
• Sexual harassment;
• Parental leave and return to work arrangements;
• Dismissal;
• Adverse action, for example someone who has been treated badly or dismissed because they made a complaint in the workplace;
• Redundancy pay and entitlements;
• Negotiated exits from employment;
• Deeds of release for example when the employment relationship concludes;
• Restraint of trade after employment;
• Professional disciplinary proceedings; and
• Misleading and deceptive conduct.

If you have any question on Employment and Industrial Law please see your union for a referral.

You have the right to be safe when you’re in a public place. If you have been hurt as the result of another person or organisation’s negligent behaviour, you may be able to make a public liability claim for compensation.

Public liability law covers a wide range of circumstances where you may have been injured, or where someone close to you has died, due to the negligent acts of a third party.  If you have been hurt in a public place, such as a shopping centre, a park, or even on the footpath, through no fault of your own, then you may be able to make a public liability claim.

What do we do

The public liability practice assists anyone that has sustained injuries other than at work or in a motor vehicle accident. There are various circumstances in which a public liability claim may be pursued, including:

• slips and falls in supermarkets or other retail outlets
• dog attacks
• falls on public or private property
• police and other assaults
• boating accidents
• playground accidents
• injuries sustained in sporting activities, where the sporting premises are in disrepair or poorly maintained
• residential accidents.

If you have been hurt as the result of a motor vehicle or road accident, Maurice Blackburn’s dedicated team can fight for you. We will do everything possible to ease your burden during these difficult times. Our road accident lawyers can help you make a compensation claim, whether you're a car or truck driver, passenger, motorcycle rider, cyclist or pedestrian. Our highly experienced personal injury lawyers understand every aspect of the road accident legal system and know how to get you everything you're entitled to and need. You also have varying rights in different states when travelling on public transport, and if you collide with public transport.

What do we do?

The road injuries practice assists clients that have sustained injuries as a result of a motor vehicle accident. Such accidents can include:

• collisions between motor vehicles
• injuries to passengers in motor vehicle collisions
• pedestrians hit by a motor vehicle
• cyclists hit by a motor vehicle or the opening door of a motor vehicle
• motorcyclists hit by a motor vehicle.

If you’ve had an injury or an illness and are unable to work, you may be able to make a superannuation claim entitling you to early access to your super or an insurance component. Maurice Blackburn have the largest insurance and superannuation claims legal department in Australia, and we’re experts in fighting for people so they receive the full benefits in their insurance and superannuation policies.

What do we do?

The Superannuation and Insurance practice deals with a variety of different types of claim including:

• Total and Permanent Disability claims
• Income Protection / Salary Continuance / Total & Temporary Disability claims
• Terminal Illness claims (clients diagnosed with 24 months or less to live)
• Government Super / Defined Benefit claims
• Death Benefit claims
• General Insurance claims
• Insurance claims denied on the grounds of non-disclosure
• Claims against employers for lack of insurance as a result of unpaid super contributions/contributions not paid on time.

Clients obtain insurance cover in multiple different ways - the most common way for a person to have insurance cover is through insurance arrangements set up by their superannuation fund. This gives a wide cross-section of workers access to insurance cover - sometimes cover that they don't even know that they hold!

You have the right to trust your doctor to look after you properly. If your health care professional, hospital or other facility breaches what’s known as their duty of care, then you may be able to make a claim for compensation.

At Maurice Blackburn we have Australia’s leading medical malpractice team, dedicated to helping you get your life back on track. No matter what you are up against, Maurice Blackburn will fight to protect you. Laws relating to medical negligence vary between states and territories, but generally Australian law allows a person to claim for compensation if they have suffered physical, psychological or financial harm as a result of negligent medical treatment.

What We Do

We assist people who have been injured as a result of negligence on the part of a health service provider such as a hospital, doctor, dentist, pharmacist or allied health professional.

Laws relating to medical negligence vary between states and territories, but generally Australian law allows a person to claim for compensation if they have suffered physical, psychological or financial harm as a result of negligent medical treatment.

Medical negligence claims can involve:

• Obstetrics;
• Paediatrics;
• Gynaecology;
• Emergency medicine;
• Surgery;
• Orthopaedics;
• Misdiagnosis of medical conditions (for example after a pap smear, breast screenings or other diagnostic test);
• Drugs and Drug reactions; or
• Cosmetic surgery

Will disputes are increasingly common, especially given the changing and complex nature of Australian families. A Will dispute does not need to be a battle – it’s about working with all involved to bring about an acceptable outcome. When a person makes a Will, they have the right to decide who will inherit their assets after they die. But there are also laws to protect people who receive an unfair entitlement in a Will. At Maurice Blackburn, 98% of our Will dispute cases are settled without the need to go to court.

Whether you are thinking of challenging or contesting a Will, or if you are the executor or beneficiary of a Will that is being challenged, Maurice Blackburn’s highly experienced Will disputes lawyers can assist you

What do we do?

The Wills & Estates team can assist in the following areas:

• Challenging Wills where the client has received little or no benefit.
• Challenging Wills that are the result of duress, undue influence or lack of capacity.
• Acting for executors in defending Wills against a challenge.
• Acting for beneficiaries whose entitlement is threatened by a challenge to the Will (whether the client is an individual or a Not For Profit organisation).
• Recovery of estate funds that have been misappropriated.
• Obtaining grants of Probate and Letters of Administration for deceased estates.
• Applications for statutory Wills where the Will maker needs a Will but does not have the capacity to make one.

If you've had an accident or if your health and wellbeing have been affected in the workplace, you may be eligible to make a claim for workers’ compensation. This also applies to any injuries happening at, or as a result of work, and any pre-existing injury, illness or disease worsened in the workplace.

What do we do?

The work injuries practice assists workers that have sustained injuries at work, or whose health has been adversely affected by their work, to make a claim for compensation. The ability to claim may also extend to injuries sustained during normal breaks, such as morning tea or lunch time, and in some states it is possible to claim for injuries sustained on the way to/from work. We also assist workers’ families to make a claim where a worker dies due to a work-related injury or disease.

What can be claimed?

• There are various items that may be claimed on a statutory basis in respect of a work-related injury, including:
• Medical expenses
• Hospital expenses
• Personal and household expenses
• Occupational therapy
• Rehabilitation expenses
• Weekly benefits, if the worker unable to work as a result of their injuries
• A lump sum payment (dependent on level of permanent impairment, date of injury and applicable law).

In addition to the items that may be claimed under the applicable statutory scheme of the State or Territory, it may be possible to sue for additional compensation under common law, if the injuries are the fault of the employer or any other person, and subject to the applicable law of the State or Territory.

Sexual, physical and institutional abuse

If you have suffered from sexual, physical or institutional abuse, no amount of financial redress can take away the pain caused. In many cases of institutional abuse the injuries can be severe and long-lasting, often staying with survivors throughout their lifetime. However, you may be entitled to compensation to support you.

Abuse claims lawyers

Our expert abuse claims lawyers can help you get the compensation you deserve. Our dedicated team understand the difficulties you are facing, and will make sure the process is as simple as possible.

Specially trained in trauma-informed practice, our lawyers and support staff will approach your claim in a respectful, discrete manner to ensure your specific needs are met.

We have experience managing claims for clients who were subjected to abuse within organisations including churches, church- and state-run institutions, public and private schools, youth and sporting clubs, foster homes, reformatory schools and prisons.