CAR ACCIDENT INJURY COMPENSATION

• Depending on the circumstances of your accident, call the Police, Ambulance or Fire Brigade to request emergency assistance.
• Make sure the accident scene is safe. Where possible, prevent further accidents from occurring by alerting oncoming traffic with hazard lights.
• Before moving the vehicles involved in the crash, take photos of the scene from different angles. If you can’t take photos, take a video.
• Request the details of the other vehicle involved in the crash. You’ll need the registration details, the make, model, colour and type of vehicle.
• Get the details of the other driver involved in the crash. Where possible take a photo of their drivers licence. You should also request the drivers full name, address, phone number and details of their CTP green slip insurer.
• Before you can make a car accident injury claim you’ll need to report the accident to the Police and obtain an event number. If the Police attended the scene or the hospital where you were treated, they will issue you an event number as the incident has technically been reported. If however the Police did not attend, you’ll need to either drop into your local Police station or call the Police Assistance Line within 28 days of the accident to report what happened and to obtain an event number.
• Request that your General Practitioner or the hospital where you were treated complete a ‘Certificate of Fitness’ for you. A Certificate of Fitness is a medical certificate that you’ll need when it comes time to lodge your CTP claim form (known as an Application for Personal Injury Benefits).
• Call Advantage Legal or jump online and book a free consultation with one of our senior lawyers . We’ll provide you with a confidential advice that outlines your rights and entitlements and double check that your medical certificate and claim form have been completed correctly before it is submitted to the CTP insurer.

Time limits apply to lodge a car injury compensation claim form in NSW. The claim form is known as an ‘Application for Personal Injury Benefits’. You’ll need to submit this form to the CTP insurer who you allege to be at-fault for your accident within 28 days. If you miss this deadline, the CTP insurer will not back pay your wages to the date of the accident unless you provide them with a full and satisfactory explanation for the delay.

If the initial 28-day deadline lapses and you don’t have a full and satisfactory explanation, don’t stress, you have up to three months from the date of your accident to lodge the Application for Personal Injury Benefits on the relevant CTP insurer. It just means that the insurer only has to start paying your lost wages from the date they receive the claim instead of back dated to the date of the accident.

If you’ve been seriously injured, you may also be entitled to lodge an Application for Damages Under Common Law. This claim is also known as a lump sum compensation claim or CTP damages claim. There are a number of time limitations that apply to CTP damages claims, however the most critical to be aware of is the three year limitation date. This means that you must commence legal proceedings in Court if you are unable to resolve your claim with the CTP insurer within 3 years of the date of your accident. There is no longer a limitation period for commencing proceedings in the Personal Injury Commission.

Lodging a car accident injury compensation claim can be a complicated process, particularly if this is your first attempt. Immediately following the accident, you’ll need to complete:

• • An Application for Personal Injury Benefits; and
  • A Certificate of Fitness filled in by your General Practitioner

If you have sustained serious injuries and have incurred financial and other losses, you’ll also need to complete:

• • An Application for Damages Under Common Law

You can download these documents at www.sira.nsw.gov.au

We recommend that you obtain legal advice from Advantage Legal before sending any of these documents to the CTP insurer responsible for your claim. It is common for injured people and General Practitioners to make simple errors which can cost you tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Our team will review the documents and make sure that everything is accurate based on your personal circumstances.

The NSW motor accident injury compensation scheme has been designed to assist people with threshold injuries (a term defined in legislation) to return to work promptly after their accident and to compensate people who have been more seriously injured. The three most common scenarios that are encountered in the NSW motor accident compensation scheme are below:

• • At-Fault or Mostly At-Fault – If you were mostly at-fault or entirely at-fault for the car accident, you are entitled to claim up to 52 weeks of statutory benefits from the CTP insurer. This includes treatment, home and personal care and partial income replacement.
    
    
  • Threshold Injuries but Not At-Fault – If you sustained a ‘threshold injury’ such as bruising or soft tissue strain, but were not at-fault for the accident, you are entitled to claim up to 52 weeks of statutory benefits including treatment, home and personal care and partial income replacement.
    
    
  • Non-Threshold Injuries and Not At-Fault – If you sustained an injury considered to be ‘not a threshold injury’ and were also not at-fault for your accident, you may be entitled to claim:
    
    
    • • Treatment
      • Home and personal care
      • Partial income replacement.
      • A lump sum for past and future income loss including superannuation
      • A lump sum for pain and suffering.

The term ‘minor injury’ was used in the NSW motor accident injury scheme to determine entitlements for people injured between 1 December 2017 to 31 March 2023. From 1 April 2023 the term was amended in motor accident legislation to ‘threshold injury’ and applies to any CTP claim open as at that date.  For more information please read our FAQ – What is a ‘threshold injury’?

A ‘threshold injury’ is a concept defined in the NSW Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017. The legislative term ‘threshold injury’ is a way of determining which people are entitled to statutory benefits and/or compensation for more than 52 weeks after an accident.

Practically, a threshold injury can usually be identified as follows:

• Physical Injuries – a soft tissue injury. This is commonly referred to as ‘whiplash’ or as ‘muscular strain’.
• Psychological Injuries – a psychological diagnosis of adjustment disorder or acute stress disorder.

CTP insurers regularly categorise injuries as ‘threshold injuries’ incorrectly. This can be due to a lack of understanding, due to a failure to correctly consider the medical information before them or due to time pressures. Whatever the reason, an incorrect threshold injury categorisation can cost you tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.

If you’ve received a threshold injury classification on a liability notice from your CTP insurer, you should seek legal advice urgently from an Accredited Specialist at Advantage Legal. Our lawyers will review the determination, advise you on your rights, obligations and entitlements.

Most decisions that a NSW CTP insurer makes on a motor accident injury claim which impact an injured person’s rights and entitlements are reviewable in the Personal Injury Commission. The CTP insurer is required to provide you with notice of their decision in writing. You may request an internal review of that decision within 28 days. Once reviewed, if the CTP insurer maintains or alters their initial decision and you still disagree with their position, you are then permitted to lodge a dispute with the NSW Personal Injury Commission. It should be noted that not all decisions made by an insurer require an internal review.

The dispute resolution process in the NSW motor accident compensation scheme can be long and complex. It can also be particularly stressful on injured people who are unfamiliar with the requirements and formalities of the process. If you would like an experienced team of experts to manage your dispute, get in touch with Advantage Legal. Our initial consultation is free and we’ll provide you with a confidential advice, so you know where you stand.

If you were injured in motor accident, sustained an injury which is classified as ‘not a threshold injury’ (a legislative definition) and were not at-fault for the accident, you may be entitled to lump sum compensation.

At Advantage Legal, we don’t use generic claim calculators to estimate compensation entitlements. This is because we believe that a compensation claim should be all about you. The smallest detail in your personal circumstances can result in tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in extra compensation. Factors such as your age, injury type and severity, your pre-injury earnings, how long you were absent from work, your plans for future employment and whether you are entitled to claim pain and suffering all impact how much your claim is worth.

Our Accredited Specialists have the knowledge and experience to maximise your compensation pay out. If you’re ready to be represented by a team of senior lawyers who put you and your claim first, get in touch with Advantage Legal and receive a free initial consultation and advice.

In NSW, if you sustained an injury which is classified as ‘not a ‘threshold injury’ and were not at-fault for the motor accident, you are entitled to pursue a car accident injury damages claim. This claim is known as an Application for Damages Under Common Law. In most circumstances, a damages claim involves:

• Engaging a lawyer.
• Identifying the CTP insurer for the at-fault driver and lodging a claim form with them.
• Obtaining factual, medical and economic loss evidence in support of your claim.
• Being examined by a number of medico-legal experts to determine the extent of your injuries.
• Having any medical disputes resolved by the Personal Injury Commission.
• Attempting to resolve the claim with the CTP insurer at a settlement conference.
• If settlement is unachievable, requesting the Personal Injury Commission or Court to resolve any disputes which remain between the insurer and you.

There is no universal definition of ‘no-win, no-fee’. Whilst many personal injury law firms offer no-win, no-fee billing it is important for people injured in a car accident to look into the detail of the arrangement they are signing up to.

Unlike many other law firms, at Advantage Legal, no-win no-fee means that you’ll only pay our professional fees and disbursements if your claim is successful. The inclusion of disbursements in a no-win, no-fee legal retainer is important as disbursements can amount to tens of thousands of dollars. Some law firms exclude disbursements, so be sure to check the fine print before signing a law firm cost retainer.

Depending on your accident circumstances, you may be entitled to make claims under multiple statutory compensation schemes or personal/third party insurance policies. These include, but are not limited to:

• The NSW motor accident compensation scheme
• The workers compensation scheme
• TPD insurance
• Public liability insurance
• Income protection insurance
• Personal accident insurance

If you’d like advice on your full compensation entitlements, contact the Advantage Legal team for a free initial consultation and confidential advice.

An Accredited Specialist in NSW Personal Injury Law is a legal professional who has passed a series of rigorous assessments set by the NSW Law Society.  A lawyer with this accreditation is one of the top lawyers in the state within their particular field of law.

Advantage Legal’s Practice Principals Leigh Davidson and Ana Jaglic have extensive experience in pursing compensation claims for injured people in NSW and have worked for both personal injury law firms and insurance companies in the past.  They have also worked as decision makers at the Dispute Resolution Service (now known as the Personal Injury Commission) and are Accredited Specialists in NSW Personal Injury Law.