By BTLawyers
Did you know that the police forensic investigation team often visit wrecking yards to conduct tests to determine the cause of a motor vehicle accident? This is something I learned when I recently conducted a site visit to investigate a personal injury claim.
Many people believe that being a lawyer is all about suits, boardrooms and marching into court. To be honest, I was probably one of those people during my university days.
However, a large part of what I do as a lawyer is to undertake investigations by conducting site inspections and interviewing witnesses in person. I can attest that personally investigating a matter is invaluable with respect to truly understanding the strengths and weaknesses of a client’s case.
I once visited a landfill and transfer station in North Queensland to investigate a claim where a worker alleged psychiatric injury from coming into contact with a needle stick. Some years prior to that, I was lucky enough to go into the pits of two underground coal mines and resurfaced with a renewed appreciation for the work ethic of underground miners and the efforts of mine operators in devising safety systems.
I have scaled a half-constructed apartment building to inspect a ladder and trestle with a mechanical engineer for the purpose of obtaining a liability expert report. My skirt suit was nicely accessorised with a high visibility vest, hard hat, steel-capped boots and safety glasses. The attire was unlikely to make the pages of Vogue however the client insisted that safety was a priority.
I have sat in the tray of a ute with a construction worker outside a worksite taking down his statement whilst being interrupted intermittently by the sound of jackhammering in the background. He was working long hours on-site and could not make it into the city to meet with me at my office. No problem, I went to go see him instead to get the job done. I remember he apologised for the sweat and concrete dust on his hand after he shook mine. The client won that case largely due to the witness’ evidence and because we knew what he was going to say and how he would present at trial. We were simply better prepared compared to our opponent.
Then there are other scenarios such as when a client told me over the phone that an overhead gantry crane was used to lift heavy machine parts from the floor up onto a workbench. When I arrived onsite the crane was not working and the witnesses said that it had been that way for some time. The worker, in that case, sustained a back injury from lifting a 50 kg machine part on his own. We settled the claim through alternative dispute resolution for a reasonable sum as it was unlikely that the client could have successfully defended the case at trial.
The above are some examples of my experiences with conducting investigations over the years. From those experiences, I believe that the top 3 benefits of site visits and personally interviewing witnesses are:
- Client Relationships – Building trust with a client is key to making sure that they have confidence in the legal advice that I am providing to them. Phone calls are better than e-mails and personal attendance trumps phone calls. Clients value that I make the effort to thoroughly understand their business and the facts of a case before providing legal advice to them.
- Case Preparation – Knowing first-hand what the accident site or piece of equipment looks like or how a witness presents will give you an edge in understanding a case and the client’s prospects of success at trial.
- Business Acumen – Investigating different cases across a wide range of industries and meeting different people from various backgrounds will help you develop knowledge and appreciation of how the world operates.
I thoroughly enjoy getting out of the office and visiting other businesses through site visits. It makes my job more fun and interesting and most importantly, help the client get a better result.
If you are a business that is looking at obtaining legal advice in respect of insurance, workplace health and safety or risk and compliance matter, then please do not hesitate to drop me a line on (07) 3211 2233 or manager@btlawyers.com.au
