The team behind your Queensland, Gold Coast, and Brisbane compensation claim
From the time of the incident, through rehabilitation, and onward towards your recovery, our staff and our Lawyers will guide you to achieve a successful outcome for your claim.
We have been helping clients like you since 1983 across Brisbane, the Gold Coast and all of Queensland and more recently in, and we know communication with you is key, and you’ve shown this in your hundreds of five star reviews for us. Scroll down to meet the team.
How much compensation will I get for my accident and injury?
You’re welcome at any time to contact us for a personalised free claim assessment which is tailored to your circumstances.
Or feel free to use our compensation calculator which will give you an indication how much compensation you may be due.
Meet your compensation lawyers
Erin Byrne | Associate
Clearly it seems one of Erin’s callings in life was to work in compensation law. As a result, she has only ever worked in this profession, and we are incredibly spoiled she has only ever worked directly with us and our sister firm, Accident Law.
With us for over thirteen years, she is yet another member of staff who packs in that decade plus of deep insights and knowledge into this specific area of law. It’s all we specialise in, and like Erin, we are very, very good at helping our clients win the most in their compensation claims.
With all her years of practice, Erin has taken on and won some of our most deeply challenging and stressful claims. From severe road crashes and intricate work incidents to some of our more unusual and complex claims.
You’d always want your doctor or surgeon to be the best you can get, and so your lawyer should be exactly the same. Experience really matters, and that is something you’ll see in the hundreds of reviews we get, many of which Erin has played a big part in.
Another fan of dogs, Erin has two cute Dachshunds, which like her workload keep her equally busy. Just to eat up what little time she had left; Erin is also now a proud mum. With yet another beautiful baby around this office, we’re thinking we may soon start our own branded baby clothesline in here.
Tim Cooper | Practice Leader
Another Lawyer with us for over a decade, Tim has an incredible passion for the law. His knowledge and first-hand experience specialising in all areas including motor vehicle, workplace accidents, and public liability litigation claims has made him someone our clients often ask to work with. He does have some bragging rights here though, as Tim has been recognised as one of Queensland’s leading Plaintiff Public Liability Lawyers, by the State’s Defendant insurance lawyers, for his ability and expertise in the area.
Outside of work, Tim is a dedicated family man and you’ll often find him on the beach with his wife and kids, kicking a ball around, reading a book and dreaming of travel (aren’t we all!). Tim is very active and loves his sport, with a particular interest in gym, tennis, AFL, soccer and golf. He can most definitely tell you some great places to eat and drink from his encyclopaedic knowledge of eateries in and around Brisbane. Tim’s professional adage is that he treats all clients like family members and he will ensure you get the maximum compensation for your claim.
Sanath Hettiarachchi | Lawyer
Sanath may join us as one of our newest lawyers, but he also comes a packing with much experience globally.
With injury knowledge and superannuation insurance deep in his past, he knows all too well why settling for the best compensation (and lawyers) is utterly vital.
You’ll find Sanath approaches clients with a genuine compassion and a real willingness to achieve the best possible outcome. Fighting hard against large insurers every day is a workout in itself, and fight for you, you can bet he will.
This bilingual lawyer has not only lived in multiple countries, but his work experience has only enriched his understanding of all our different cultures, people, and their needs. Especially when we can face our lowest moments as humans when critically injured.
Sanath wears many hats in his day job. However, in his spare time, you’ll find him either with a chef’s hat on cooking, a racing helmet on watching the Formula 1, or a cricket hat on cheering on his team. His lovely wife of ten years (and fur baby) thankfully manage to remove some of his hats, so they can get some time with this busy gentleman.
Vaughan Jackson
| Senior Associate
Vaughan is a hardworking lawyer that has been fighting for the rights of his clients for over 20 years. Throughout his career he has acted both for insurance companies and for everyday Queenslanders affected in motor vehicle and work incident litigation.
This experience on both sides of the legal fence gives Vaughan the upper hand.
He has gathered an excellent insight into the approach and thought patterns adopted by the insurance firms as they manage compensation claims and this, along with his great sense of humour, makes Vaughan one of the most valuable members of the TPIL Lawyers team.
His insider knowledge has helped hundreds of clients get the compensation they deserve and get their lives back on track.
When not working, Vaughan is a super active early riser. He enjoys running, swimming, trail hikes and walks with his partner and Jamali, his Rhodesian Ridgeback.
Greg Lauritsen-Damm
| Practice Leader
Greg is our in-house Queensland Law Society Accredited Specialist in Personal Injury Law and has practiced for over 13 years.
It has been said that whatever Greg doesn’t know about personal injury law probably isn’t worth knowing.
Greg has the ability to spot an issue in a case well before his client even knows that the problem exists. ‘Tenacious’ is an understatement. Greg will fight for every last cent that his clients are entitled to.
A family man who loves the outdoors, you’ll be his best friend if you love Rugby Union.
James Madden | Managing Director
Our Managing Director, James, has represented clients who, through no fault of their own, have suffered as a result of somebody else’s actions. Imagine finding yourself hurt and then having an insurer make you jump through hoops before you can get access to much needed treatment. James has seen it all.
He has spent years battling the powerful “Goliaths” of the insurance industry to make sure his clients settle for best (and often without the need to go through a protracted trial). There are no issues in your case that he hasn’t seen, and dealt with, many times before.
With his honest, caring and straight-talking approach, James has successfully represented hundreds (actually, it is probably thousands) of clients in relation to their:
- Car compensation claims
- Work incident compensation claims
- Slip & Fall/Public Liability compensation claims
- Professional negligence compensation claims
James doesn’t spend all of his time in the office and values the work/life balance. He loves music and really gets a thrill out of trying to make the perfect Spotify playlist (even if his favourite music is Country music – cringe).
And when he is not doing that, he is brainwashing his two young children on the finer points of cheering for the world’s greatest football team (and we all know who that is, right?).
Connect with James on Twitter @QLDLawyer
Tracie is the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at TPIL Lawyers and is a qualified accountant (CPA) and a graduate of AICD (GAICD). Her commercial experience spans twenty years, multiple different countries and numerous industries.
She began her career at Ernst & Young, growing the wealth of high net worth individuals and their associated businesses.
Tracie McIntyre
| COO/CFO
She has worked in senior executive roles for businesses ranging from successful tech start-ups to large corporates and government agencies. We have been fortunate to have Tracie as part our team now for 14 years.
Tracie strategically guides and grows businesses while improving resilience. Tech automation, process improvement and high growth environments are 3 things that Tracie is passionate about. Her finance background is supported by a wide range of business and governance skills. She has an in-depth knowledge of commercial contracts, recruitment, change management, negotiation and dispute resolution.
Tracie describes herself as being focused on innovation, integrity and collaboration and enjoys building strategies to assist in wealth creation such that each business can reach its full potential.
Tracie an avid theatre buff and loves to travel. She loves a conversation in her poorly articulated French and very much misses exploring the world thanks to COVID.
Allison Millson | Law Clerk
Allison is yet another pillar of this firm. Now with us for over twenty years, this Netball fan, knows her way around not only the Netball court, but the compensation claim courts. (No more Netball puns-promise!)
She is a real walking treasure trove of knowledge and process design skills, where she is always trying to make things easier in this often-complex legal landscape. This is exactly why it’s all about picking a firm with great staff like Allison who come with such invaluable experience. Those two decades adds an incredible skill and insight when making a claim for you. Thus, she knows how to ‘net’ great compensation returns like no other. (Ok, ok really the last Netball pun.)
She is known to go ‘to the ends of the earth’ to research for claims, and we’ve seen it in all the continually happy clients. Allison’s primary focus is on motor vehicle litigation claims, and she has helped so many over the years get their lives back on track, after some debilitating incidents and hardships.
Allison effortlessly glides between her busy workload, her Netball, and two gorgeous young girls. We would not be the firm we are without her.
Carrisa Myers | Law Clerk
We love our staff, and they seem to love it here too as Carrisa is yet another employee here for nearly ten years. She has a green thumb, and has by her own admission, ‘a million plants’ in her new home. We have it on good authority she may not be wrong…
Carrisa tends to those plants just like her clients, and her reviews show it. She now has vast experience working in all areas of litigation law, including workplace litigation compensation, public liability, and in particular, motor vehicle litigation.
You’ll also find her regularly assisting with the development of our procedures and precedents. Vital tools that help us speed up your claim and get compensation to you quicker.
When she is not fighting with insurance companies for you, Carrisa also loves the outdoors. You’ll find her heading to the beach, going camping and relaxing with a crime thriller, and even a little yoga. She might even bring a little plant along.
Namaste Carrisa.
Jaimi Nailer | Lawyer
Jaimi grew up in Tasmania and moved to Queensland in 2014 to undertake her law degree.
Jaimi has worked in the personal injuries industry since 2014, graduated from Griffith University in 2018 and was admitted to the Supreme Court of Queensland in 2019.
Since then she has worked as a solicitor representing injured claimant’s in their compensation claims.
Jaimi has always wanted to work in an area of law that helps people and is passionate about assisting injured people understand their rights. Her goal is to make the claim process as easy and stress-free as possible for her clients.
Debbie Pollard | Practice Manager
There isn’t much Debbie has not been involved in or experienced in her time here. Being our Practice Manager, she has the honour of being the firm’s second ever employee nearly four decades ago! Basically, she’s the mum of this firm around here, and boy do we love her for it. Not only caring endlessly after all the staff and processes, but clients too.
There is a lot of paperwork in claims between insurance companies, and other lawyers, making her rich experience in this area invaluable. She also ensures this knowledge is passed on to all staff, new and old via regular training sessions and you’ll find her at her happiest, deep in a process manual.
This Christmas and Easter holiday loving lady can often be seen donning a full Santa and Easter bunny suit as the holidays roll around. Even if you’ve been naughty or nice, she’ll still be dishing out treats and other goodies to the staff to keep the wheels turning. In the rare downtime she gets, this busy lady will thank you for a chance to put her feet up with a nice glass of wine.
Stephanie Rutherford
| Lawyer
A Queensland and Australian representative 7’s rugby player, Stephanie is not one to be beaten to the ball by her opponents. As an elite athlete, she brings the same level of discipline, dedication and grit to the practice of law that she does to the rugby paddock.
Stephanie began her career in commercial litigation before taking a leap of faith and moving into personal injury law with TPIL Lawyers. Stephanie has really enjoyed the interaction with clients that are real people (and not corporations) and she hasn’t looked back since.
Stephanie is a dyed-in-the-wool Gold Coast local and graduated with a double degree from Bond University and Griffith University.
If she’s not working or playing rugby, you will catch her walking her Husky and Groodle around the Gold Coast.
Dan Sutherland | Senior Lawyer
Dan has won many awards in his career, including being a ‘leading lawyer’ award from the Doyle’s guide. Packing an impressive sixteen years of law experience, he has been a Principal Lawyer at WorkCover Queensland, as well as a Defense Lawyer for a Queensland CTP Insurer.
WorkCover compensation claims are a highly bureaucratic and complex space, so we and many of our clients are glad he’s on our team. Dan’s rich near two decades experience he has gathered, has not only helped his many clients get the compensation they needed, but got them back to being themselves quickly.
Dan’s busy life does not stop after working hours, as he crams in a full family and social life. He juggles a passion for 80’s movies, video games, (mention Nintendo and watch him smile) Milo the family Dachshund and is still dreaming of getting on to the Golf course one day.
Angela Symons | Associate
Not only will she sing your praises in court, our former ‘child star’ (and now ‘star lawyer’), Angela has played the lead role of Annie in Annie the Musical, and represented the hills being alive starring in The Sound of Music at many theatres around Australia such as QPAC.
During some time living in America, she landed several acting roles on TV, even acting out her future career, starring in shows such as Boston Legal!
After an offer of scholarship at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Hollywood, she instead decided to make Australia her home, the law her career, and started working here with us.
Her clients now sing her praises in her many reviews of those she has helped fight for. With the firm for over ten years, Angela has gathered an extensive knowledge in all claim types such as Motor vehicle litigation, Work place claims and Public liability compensation claims.
Given her experience, Angela has handled some of our more complex and challenging claims. She also plays a large role in assisting with the management of the firm and developing our procedures and precedents.
Award winning compensation lawyers, winning compensation for you
- We are a member of the Australian Lawyers Alliance
- We are a member of the Gold Coast District Law Association
- Past members of Law Australasia and we hold the following awards with them:
- Outstanding Achievement in Practice Award 2006 ;
- Pursuit of Excellence 2010; & Outstanding Achievement 2011;
- Pursuit of Excellence – Process and Procedures 2016.
- Pursuit of Excellence – Process and Procedures 2017
- Pursuit Of Excellence – Productivity 2017
- Pursuit Of Excellence – Financial Management 2017
- We’re happy to have had over 38 years of very happy clients who have left many positive reviews
Real 5 star client Google reviews
● Read 5 star ★★★★★ real reviews from those we have helped
● No fake reviews here, we just work hard for great clients who leave honest feedback.
With us, your compensation claim is in great hands
We are long term and proud members of some of the organisations and groups below. We care deeply about the work we do, our staff and who we associate with.
If you are looking for the best rated compensation lawyers in Brisbane, compensation lawyers on the Gold Coast, or anywhere in QLD, then you’ve came to the right place.
We're here to help and there is no cost to discuss your claim
We know all too well that compensation claims can be confusing, so don’t get lost in the sea of complexities. You’re welcome to just give us a call, chat with you, or send an email to us. We’ll be glad to help you.
There is no cost for the call or to speak to our lawyers, and you’re under no obligation.