Having problems with ACC?

Your claim may have been declined. Your payments may have stopped. You may be waiting on a decision, preparing for a review, or trying to work out what ACC’s decision means.

When your health, income, independence, or recovery is affected, it can feel overwhelming. Our ACC specialist team may be able to help you work through the process and your options.

When you are dealing with ACC, it helps to have the right people beside you.

Our ACC specialist team is led by Louise Newman, a Senior Associate and experienced ACC lawyer who helps people with ACC claims, reviews and disputes.

Louise works closely with Solicitor Molly Cardno and their experienced Legal Secretary, Susan Brunton.

Together, they help clients with declined claims, treatment injury matters, entitlements, medical evidence, weekly compensation issues, sensitive claims and review hearings.

They understand that ACC issues can feel personal, stressful and hard to navigate, especially when your health, income or independence is affected.

As a team, Louise, Molly and Susan work with care, respect and empathy, helping clients feel supported through the ACC process.

For ACC purposes, Gibson Sheat does not offer a ‘no win, no pay’ fee structure. In some cases, clients may be eligible to receive a cost award from ACC but, often, this does not cover the full cost of our work and is not awarded until the completion of a matter.

Gibson Sheat does not provide legal aid services.

We do, however, have an obligation to advise clients if we consider they may be eligible for legal aid. Because legal aid can involve Government contribution to legal costs it may be more cost effective for a client to contact a legal aid provider. If you are unsure if you are eligible, we recommend you clarify this first before speaking with one of our solicitors.

We believe it is important to be upfront about costs.

If Gibson Sheat can assist you, we would need to discuss our terms of engagement.
The cost of our legal advice and representation will depend on the complexity of your matter, the work required, and the stage your ACC issue has reached.

In most cases we require a retainer of between $1,000 - $3,000 (at least) to be paid prior to any work being begins.

Our solicitors charge by the hour. We will discuss fees with you before you decide whether to engage us.

If you cannot afford private legal fees, we recommend contacting a legal aid provider or Way Finders before submitting an enquiry to Gibson Sheat.

Our ACC team currently has limited capacity and is only taking on a few new cases each week. Because of this, we may not be able to assist every person who contacts us.

We understand that this can be disappointing, especially when your issue is urgent or stressful. If we are not the right people to help, we encourage you to contact a legal aid provider, Way Finders, or ACC directly so you can keep moving forward.

Please take a moment to consider the following before submitting our enquiry form:

• If you are eligible or may be eligible for legal aid, please contact a legal aid provider first.

• If you need free guidance about ACC, please contact Way Finders or Community Law.

• If you need advice about the status of your case and what is needed from you, please contact ACC direct.