Practice area
Personal Injury & CompensationAccident compensation (ACC) and remaining personal injuryPersonal injury and civil damages
Define the intended work in Personal Injury & Compensation (workers compensation, CTP/TAC, medical negligence), confirm the applicable requirements and select a task to plan the necessary review.
Key facts
- Tasks covered
- 38
- Tasks with a step-by-step checklist
- 20
- Local differences
- 3 jurisdictions where this area changes
Jurisdiction
Tasks
GreenLawyer reviewYellowClose supervisionRedLawyer-led
| Task | How AI is used | Human involvement | What the lawyer must review |
|---|---|---|---|
| Find gaps and duplicates in a medical-record set | Compile a provider-and-date coverage table from permitted records, with links to documents and apparent gaps for follow-up. | YellowClose supervision |
|
| Prepare the tribunal or commission document bundle from the lawyer-selected material | Draft the index, document categories and pagination checks from the lawyer-selected material, and identify apparent duplicates. | YellowClose supervision |
|
| Prepare a compliant NSW PIC document bundle | Draft the index, document categories and pagination checks from the lawyer-selected material, and identify apparent duplicates. | YellowClose supervision |
|
| Check an expert report’s assumptions and AI disclosure | Extract stated assumptions, qualifications, sources and disclosure sections from the final permitted expert report into a review table. | YellowClose supervision |
|
| Check a proposed medico-legal referral before booking | Organise the proposed expert’s specialty, authority to give evidence, questions and source material into a referral checklist. | RedLawyer-led |
|
| Calculate limitation and pre-action notice deadlines from the injury facts | From the candidate trigger dates the file supports — incident date, deemed date of injury, date symptoms first appeared, and any discoverability date the lawyer has nominated — together with the notice and claim dates and the limitation and notice provisions the lawyer has named, count out each deadline and set it in a table. Each row gives the date, the fact it was counted from, and the provision the lawyer named. List every date the file gives no source for, and list the facts that could move a date — date of birth, date of first medical opinion, an earlier notice under another scheme — that the lawyer has not yet tied to a provision. Flag where the file supports more than one trigger date, showing the deadline each one produces, and where two named provisions give different dates. The tool counts days and lays out the file; it does not pick the scheme, the provision, the trigger date or the date that controls. | RedLawyer-led | Limitation is fatal unless extended — check the scheme's excuse and extension provisions before treating a passed date as final. Apply the current statute for the scheme and the jurisdiction. Date arithmetic is not a legal opinion. |
| Build a medical chronology from the record set | From the permitted records, produce a dated treatment chronology with provider, complaint, findings and page cites, and list gaps. | YellowClose supervision |
|
| Prepare a damages or statutory-entitlements schedule | From payroll, tax, care diaries and medical evidence, draft a working schedule (past loss, future loss, care, treatment, lump-sum heads) with source columns and gaps. | YellowClose supervision |
|
| Prepare a damages or WPI lump-sum schedule under the applicable state scheme | From payroll, tax, care diaries and medical evidence, draft a working schedule (past loss, future loss, care, treatment, WPI lump-sum heads) with source columns and gaps. | YellowClose supervision |
|
| Map statutory entitlements under the applicable compensation scheme | From the named scheme materials on file, draft a table of weekly payments, treatment, lump-sum and common-law thresholds, with provisions to verify. | YellowClose supervision |
|
| Map statutory entitlements under SIRA, WorkSafe VIC, ReturnToWork SA or the named scheme | From the named scheme materials on file, draft a table of weekly payments, treatment, lump-sum and common-law thresholds, with provisions to verify. | YellowClose supervision |
|
| Map ACC entitlements from the claim file | List claimed weekly compensation, treatment and lump-sum items from the file. | YellowClose supervision |
|
| Draft the pre-action notice or statutory claim form from the instructions | The claimant certifies the answers as true — in Queensland by statutory declaration under the Oaths Act signed before an eligible witness, in New South Wales by a declaration carrying the Crimes Act penalty — so the tool writes nothing into the notice or claim form, and do not choose the form version or decide which scheme applies. The lawyer completes every answer with the client. Index the attachments against the lawyer's completed form. Compile a strictly tabular, source-tagged treatment-and-earnings chronology from the medical and earnings records — one row per event giving date, event and source document, ordered by date rather than in the order the form's questions run, and no narrative. Compare each declared answer with the proofing note and the treatment records, list the answers that still have no source, and check the mandatory questions, any reasonable excuse for late notice, and the declaration and signing requirements against the blank form and guidance notes the lawyer has downloaded. | RedLawyer-led | Download the current form and guidance notes from the scheme at the date of lodgement and confirm the correct scheme and respondent. Take every declared answer from the client in the client's own words, and check the tool's chronology against the records it cites. Read the completed form through with the client, and confirm the declaration is signed as the downloaded form directs, and witnessed where that scheme requires a witness, before it is lodged or given to the insurer. |
| Draft the PIPA notice, CTP claim or WorkCover form from the instructions | Collect the instructions and the chronology into the order the form requires, and against the notice the lawyer has written, list every assertion with no source and check the particulars the scheme prescribes. The tool drafts no narrative part of the notice or claim form, and does not select the form version or determine which scheme applies. | RedLawyer-led |
|
| Draft pleadings or points of claim from the medical chronology | From the chronology and instructions, draft a pleading or points of claim with particulars of injury, negligence or breach and loss, listing facts needing a source. | YellowClose supervision |
|
| Draft medico-legal instructions and review the draft report | Turn the issues list into a letter of instruction and, on the draft report, table assumptions, unexplained opinions and any AI-disclosure language. | YellowClose supervision |
|
| Draft submissions for the compensation commission or tribunal | Draft a structural outline and non-evidentiary procedural sections for the commission or tribunal submissions from the approved issues table. | RedLawyer-led |
|
| Draft non-evidentiary submissions for the NSW PIC, QIRC, WorkSafe Appeals or SACAT | Draft a structural outline and non-evidentiary procedural sections from the approved issues table. NSW PIC from 1 January 2026: no evidentiary analysis or fact-based argument (PD PIC 13). | RedLawyer-led |
|
| Draft a settlement advice and conference paper | From the schedule, liability issues and instructions, draft a conference paper (best/worst/likely, outstanding evidence, recommended range inputs). | YellowClose supervision |
|
| Settle a US personal-injury file with a Rule 1.5 fee check | From medical summaries and wage records the lawyer designates, build a damages table with every figure sourced. | YellowClose supervision |
|
| Prepare court-approval papers for a child or protected-person settlement | The approval affidavit, counsel's opinion and the proposed orders are the lawyer's to write and the tool writes nothing into any of them. Compare the lawyer's draft against the proofing note and the executed settlement terms, index the annexures — medical and care reports, costs disclosure and fund-management material — list every assertion about the protected person's interests that has no source on the file, reconcile the deductions — statutory refunds, costs and disbursements — against the source notices so the net sum to be held for the protected person adds up, and check the papers and the proposed orders against the approval requirements and certificates the lawyer supplies. | RedLawyer-led | Approval is the court's. The lawyer writes the affidavit, the opinion and the proposed orders, and the tutor or guardian swears only what they can adopt as their own evidence. Confirm the current approval rules and that the compromise is in the person's interests. |
| Prepare an occupational-disease or dust-disease file chronology and issues list | From the employment, exposure and medical records, draft a chronology and issues list (disease category, defendants/trusts, limitation flags) with document cites. | RedLawyer-led |
|
| Prepare a dust-disease chronology for the DDT NSW, ADRF Trust or Comcare asbestos claim | From employment, exposure and medical records, draft a cited chronology and issues list (disease category, defendants/trusts, limitation flags) under the Dust Diseases Tribunal Act 1989 (NSW), Workers Compensation (Dust Diseases) Act 1942 (NSW) or ADRF Trust claims. | RedLawyer-led |
|
| Draft correspondence to the insurer or scheme agent | From the liability decision, medical requests and weekly-payment issues, draft letters that cite the file documents and list outstanding items. | YellowClose supervision |
|
| Summarise surveillance and social-media material the lawyer has already collected | From material on the file, produce a dated summary with exhibit references and a list of apparent inconsistencies with the claimed disabilities. | YellowClose supervision |
|
| Triage a new injury enquiry against scheme eligibility | From the intake, list likely scheme paths, obvious time limits and documents to request, for the lawyer to decide whether to open a file. | YellowClose supervision |
|
| Triage a New Zealand injury against ACC cover before a damages claim | Extract the injury, date, place and alleged fault into a cover-fact sheet. | YellowClose supervision |
|
| Reconcile the claim form with the medical chronology and payroll evidence | Compare the claimed injury date, mechanism, body parts and time off work with the records and payroll; list inconsistencies. | YellowClose supervision |
|
| Draft a letter of demand or particulars of injury from the schedule | From the approved chronology and schedule, draft a demand letter or particulars with heads of loss and a document list. | YellowClose supervision |
|
| Prepare a PIC witness statement with the Gen AI non-use disclosure | Build the statement checklist: disclosure paragraph, annexures, and investigator briefing on PIC13. | RedLawyer-led | Take the statement in the witness's own words; Gen AI must not generate its content (r 33A). |
| Instruct a medical expert on PIC Gen AI requirements | Draft the instruction paragraph drawing PIC13, PIC4 and r 33B to the expert's attention. | GreenLawyer review | Confirm the letter is sent and the report discloses any Gen AI use. |
| Prepare a CTP or workers compensation dispute submission from the scheme file | Build cited chronology and issues list from medical and payroll records. | YellowClose supervision | Verify every medical fact and statutory time limit; check tribunal Gen AI rules (e.g. SC Gen 23 adopters, PIC). |
| Organise chaotic PI evidence into a fact base | Extract facts from medical, payroll and correspondence records. | YellowClose supervision | Lawyer verifies each fact against source. |
| Build a PI medical chronology with AI | Generate a chronology from records. | YellowClose supervision | Spot-check against records. |
| Streamline PI administration tasks with AI | Automate routine correspondence and scheduling. | GreenLawyer review | Human review before sending. |
| Review a client's AI-drafted claim description | Check for inaccuracy before lodgement. | YellowClose supervision | Lawyer verifies. |
| Set an AI-use protocol for PI paralegals | Draft supervision rules. | GreenLawyer review | Partner approves. |
| Comply with PIC13 when preparing PIC documents | Check GenAI use and disclosure under PIC13. | YellowClose supervision | Lawyer confirms. |
| Summarise medical reports for a whole-person impairment assessment | Extract diagnoses and WPI findings. | YellowClose supervision | Lawyer verifies. |
| Assess claims involving insurer AI decision tools | Identify where an algorithm affected the claim decision. | YellowClose supervision | Lawyer advises. |
| Draft the worker's witness statement for a Personal Injury Commission work-injury damages matter | Do not generate the statement. List the injury events the worker will describe. | RedLawyer-led | The statement stays in the worker's own account. PIC13 paragraph 12 states that ban. It is not optional. |
| Draft the expert report attached to a section 315 pre-filing statement for work injury damages | Do not draft the report. List the questions and the records the expert will use, and note the disclosure the report must contain if generative AI is used. | RedLawyer-led | PIC13 requires disclosure in the report. It does not require prior leave. If the report will be relied on in a court work-injury damages proceeding, SC Gen 23 paragraph 23 is leave to rely, sought at the first directions hearing of that court matter. |
| Prepare a treatment chronology from the medical records for a Personal Injury Commission matter | List treatment dates and providers from the records into a chronology. | GreenLawyer review | Check every date against the record. Paragraph 11(a) allows the chronology. Paragraph 10 still limits what may be entered. |
| Draft written submissions for a Personal Injury Commission hearing | Draft submissions from the evidence and the authorities the lawyer has opened. | YellowClose supervision | Verify in the body that citations exist, are accurate and are relevant. That verification must not be carried out by a generative AI tool. |
| Draft the plaintiff's affidavit in a personal injury proceeding in the Supreme Court of Victoria | Produce a draft affidavit from the plaintiff's instructions and the medical dates for the lawyer to verify. | YellowClose supervision | A person verifies every injury date and symptom. Asking one artificial intelligence tool to confirm what another produced is not verification. A person may check original source material, including source material kept inside a tool. |
| Draft the plaintiff's witness statement for a personal injury trial in the Supreme Court of Western Australia | Do not substitute the plaintiff's words. List the injury events the plaintiff will describe. | RedLawyer-led | The statement stays in the plaintiff's own words. |
| Verify authorities in a Queensland District Court personal injury submission | Extract the citations from a draft outline so the named practitioner can check them. | RedLawyer-led | District Court Practice Direction 12 of 2025, signed by the Chief Judge on 25 September 2025, requires the individual practitioner to verify references in written and oral submissions. It does not ban AI. A reference to a non-existent case or statute may lead to a Legal Services Commissioner referral or a personal costs show-cause. Do not treat the direction as a Magistrates Court direction. |
Firm-wide obligations
| Obligation | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Trust accounting & handling client money | Checks that apply across files. |
| Costs, billing & litigation funding | Checks that apply across files. |
| Client-facing & access-to-justice AI tools | Checks that apply across files. |
| Incoming evidence — deepfakes & synthetic documents | Checks that apply across files. |
| AI decision systems | Checks that apply across files. |
| Confidentiality & client information | Checks that apply across files. |
| AML/CTF — the practice as a reporting entity | Checks that apply across files. |
What changes in Australia
| Topic | What changes |
|---|---|
| Schemes | WorkCover/SIRA NSW, WorkSafe VIC, WorkCover QLD, TAC VIC, MACA NSW, MAIA QLD, ReturnToWork SA, WorkCover WA and Comcare, layered over common law. |
| Deadlines | Hard pre-litigation notice deadlines and limitation periods. A wrong scheme rule or limitation date can be a fatal procedural error. |
| Impairment | Mandatory medical evidence hierarchies. AMA5 in most schemes; AMA4 for some Victorian purposes; WA 2nd edition permanent impairment guidelines from 1 July 2026. |
| Health records | Client medical records in a public AI tool breach ASCR r 9 and APP 11 and may be a notifiable data breach under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). |
| Citations | Fabricated authority in tribunal submissions has led to disciplinary referral and personal costs orders. |
| Limits on AI assistance |
|
- NSW Personal Injury Commission: PIC3 Documents, amended 1 January 2026 · 2026-09-16
- NSW Personal Injury Commission: PIC13 Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence, 1 January 2026 · 2026-09-16
- NSW Personal Injury Commission: PIC12 Page limit and additional documents · 2026-09-16
- NSW Personal Injury Commission: PIC4 Expert Witness Evidence, amended 1 January 2026 · 2026-09-16
- SIRA: Health practitioners authorised to give evidence · 2026-09-16
What changes in New Zealand
Known here as: Accident compensation (ACC) and remaining personal injury
| Topic | What changes |
|---|---|
| No-fault scheme | Accident Compensation Act 2001. Covers accident, work-related gradual process, treatment injury, mental injury from sexual abuse and work-related mental injury. No need to show fault. |
| Right to sue | Community Law records that ss 317 and 319 bar most compensatory claims for covered injuries, with a limited path to exemplary damages. |
| Reviews | ACC internal review, then independent review, then appeal to the District Court. |
| Not Australian schemes | Do not run a NSW PIC, Victorian TAC or Queensland CTP file. A medical-negligence treatment injury is an ACC file first. |
| Limits on AI assistance |
|
- Accident Compensation Act 2001 · 2026-09-23
- Community Law: Overview of the ACC scheme · 2026-09-23
- Courts of New Zealand: GenAI guidelines — Lawyers (7 December 2023) · 2026-09-23
What changes in United States
Known here as: Personal injury and civil damages
| Topic | What changes |
|---|---|
| State law | State law governs this work. Check the statutes, court rules and conduct rules of the state where the matter is. Do not import an Australian statute, form or court AI practice note. |
| No scheme | No national CTP or workers' compensation scheme displaces common-law damages as ACC does. Workers' compensation is state law. |
| Fees | Contingency fees are a Rule 1.5 and state-rule issue. Formal Opinion 512 requires reasonable fees when tools cut time. |
| Health data | HIPAA often applies to medical records on the file. |
- ABA Formal Opinion 512, Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools (29 July 2024) · 2026-09-23
- ABA Model Rule 1.5, Fees · 2026-09-23
- HHS: HIPAA covered entities and business associates · 2026-09-23
Precedents for this area
- Workers compensation dispute application in the Personal Injury Commission (NSW): completion guide (Court document, AI use Yellow). Guide to preparing and lodging a NSW workers compensation dispute in the Personal Injury Commission through the Pathway portal after the 2025-2026 reforms, including pre-conditions, evidence and the Commission's generative AI rules (PIC13).
- CTP personal injury benefits claim (NSW) and TAC claim (Vic): deadlines and lodgment checklist (Form, AI use Red). Checklist for getting a NSW CTP statutory benefits claim or a Victorian TAC claim lodged on time through the official channel, with the documents to gather, the deadlines that cost clients money, and the costs rules for lawyers.
- Conditional (no win, no fee) costs agreement and costs disclosure for personal injury claims (Uniform Law states) (Agreement, AI use Yellow). Conditional costs agreement and disclosure for personal injury damages claims in NSW, Victoria and WA: defines success, sets rates and any uplift within the 25% cap, explains disbursements, cooling-off, statutory caps and what the client pays.
- Medical negligence: request for health records and letter of claim to a provider (NSW, with Victorian and Queensland notes) (Letter, AI use Yellow). Two letters for a medical negligence claimant: a request for the client's complete health records, and a later letter of claim that notifies the claim, summarises the expert-supported allegations and invites early resolution.
- Protocol: AI-generated medical chronologies (privacy, verification and use in evidence) (Checklist, AI use Yellow). Firm protocol for producing medical chronologies with AI: approved secure tools only, handling of subpoenaed and restricted records, page-cited entries, 100% source verification, and rules for giving chronologies to experts and courts.
- Letter briefing a medico-legal expert, including the court's generative AI restrictions (Letter, AI use Yellow). Letter of instruction to a medico-legal expert that sets the questions and assumptions, encloses the code of conduct, and tells the expert the applicable generative AI rules (leave in NSW courts, disclosure in the PIC) and how to handle the records securely.
All precedents for Personal Injury & Compensation. Signed-in accounts can read the full text.