Personal Injury Law in Singapore

What is personal injury law?

Personal injury law usually covers situations where someone has received a physical injury due to someone’s carelessness, negligence, or physical attack. This can include road traffic accidents, workplace accidents, or any accident in a public place.

Personal injury law also covers injuries that animal or consumer products may have caused, medical negligence, and fatal accidents.

Can I claim for my injuries?

If your injuries were because of negligence caused by a third-party and you have evidence to substantiate your claim, you can make a financial claim for damages. The reasoning behind receiving damages is to restore you to the position you would have been in; would it not be for the injuries.

What is negligence?

Negligence means that someone’s conduct has caused a person to suffer loss or harm.

For instance, if you suffered a workplace accident and wanted to make a personal injury claim, you would need to fulfil three elements to make a successful claim.

1. Your employer owed you a duty of care;
2. Your employer failed/breached the said duty of care; and
3. By your employers’ action or an admission (non-action), your employer causes you to suffer loss or harm.

Whether your employer was negligent will depend on the facts of your case. Consequently, it is vital to seek the advice of a specialist personal injury lawyer who can tell you whether you have a realistic prospect of successfully claiming damages.

If I was injured five years ago, can I now make a personal injury claim?

Generally, you have three years from the date of the injury to make your claim.

However, there are exceptions, such as where the injury lay undiscovered, symptoms that were not apparent at the time, or the claimant is a child or disabled.

In all cases, we recommend that you contact a law firm as soon as possible after the incident. They will be able to ask for evidence such as CCTV footage and complete a site visit to gather information to support your claim.

In what instances can I claim damages?

You may claim in the following circumstances where you have:

• Physical injury
• Mental suffering
• Lost of earnings, medical fees, transport expenses, etc.

What are the benefits of using a personal injury lawyer rather than making a claim myself?

• Getting advice from expert personal injury lawyers means that you will know if you have a realistic chance of a successful claim for damages from day one.
• Because we deal with personal injury matters every day, we will be able to resolve your matter quicker, which means that potentially you will receive your compensation much faster than had you dealt with the case yourself.
• We deal with the big insurers all the time and know-how to negotiate with them. We are here to make sure that you don’t accept and receive a low-ball offer.