PUBLIC TRANSPORT, TAXI, RIDE SHARE OR FORKLIFT ACCIDENT INJURY COMPENSATION

• If you’ve been injured, call for emergency assistance. This could involve attendance from the Police, Ambulance or Fire Brigade depending on your accident circumstances.
• Take photos or a video recording of the accident scene.
• Obtain witness details and/or copies of surveillance/dash cam footage.
• Lodge an incident report with the public transport company, taxi company, ride share company or business where the accident occurred.
• Obtain registration or identification details of all vehicles involved in the accident. This typically involves taking a photograph of the vehicle registration plate or the vehicle identifier if the vehicle is not registered. Also note down the details of the make, model, colour and type of vehicle(s) involved in your accident.
• Obtain details of all drivers involved and people who witnessed the accident.
• If the Police did not attend the scene, report the accident to your nearest Police station or call the Police Assistance Line within 28 days. You’ll need an ‘event number’ to lodge a compensation claim, so be sure to request one at the time of reporting your accident.
• Call Advantage legal or book a free consultation through our online booking service with one of our senior lawyers. Time limits apply to compensation claims involving public transport accidents, taxi accidents, ride share accidents and forklift accidents. We recommend that seek advice urgently to avoid missing any critical deadlines. We’ll provide you with a confidential advice and assist you to complete all claim forms required to pursue a claim for compensation based on your individual circumstances.

The NSW motor accident compensation scheme prescribes that:

• An injured person has 28 days to lodge a claim for compensation or they lose the right to claim a back payment of wages unless they provide the CTP insurer with a full and satisfactory explanation for the delay. A claim can still be lodged up to 3 months after the accident without a full and satisfactory explanation, however the insurance company will only need to commence payments from the date the claim is received.
• Proceedings in Court need to be commenced within 3 years if your claim is unable to be resolved at a settlement conference with the insurer responsible for indemnifying the vehicle in question.

Different claim lodgement and statutory limitation periods may apply if a claim is made under a different statutory compensation scheme or insurance policy. Please contact our team for more information.

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

• An Application for Damages Under Common Law

If your accident circumstances permit you to make a claim under the NSW motor accident compensation scheme, the relevant medical certificate can be found at: www.sira.nsw.gov.au

The medical certificate required to lodge your claim is called a ‘Certificate of Fitness’.

Please note that not all public transport, taxi, ride share or forklift accident will fall under the NSW motor accidents compensation scheme. You should seek advice on your personal circumstances to ensure that the correct form of compensation is pursued.

If you’re eligible to pursue a claim under the NSW motor accident compensation scheme for your public transport, taxi, ride share or forklift accident injuries, your entitlements vary depending on the injury severity and whether you were at-fault for the accident. The three most common scenarios that occur in motor accident claims are as follows:

• • At-Fault or Mostly At-Fault – NSW motor accident legislation provides injured people with up to 52 weeks of treatment, home and personal care and partial income replacement if you are at-fault or mostly at-fault for the accident.

• • Threshold Injuries but Not At-Fault – NSW motor accident legislation provides injured people with up to 52 weeks of benefits including treatment, home and personal care and partial income replacement if you are not at-fault for the accident but have sustained ‘threshold injuries’. The term ‘threshold injury’ is a legislative concept defined in the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017. For more information, read our FAQ called What is a ‘threshold injury’?

• • Non-Threshold Injuries and Not At-Fault – NSW motor accident legislation provides that injured people who are not at-fault and who have sustained injuries which are ‘non-threshold injuries’ are 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

It is important to note that people involved in public transport, taxi, ride share or forklift accidents may have other legal rights and entitlements which need to be considered in addition to, or instead of those found under the NSW motor accident compensation scheme.

To receive an advice on your personal circumstances, please contact our experienced senior personal injury team.

The term ‘minor injury’ was defined in the Motor Accident Injuries Act and associated regulations from 1 December 2017 to 31 March 2023. People with minor injuries had an entitlement of up to 26 weeks of statutory benefits from the date of the accident on a no-fault basis.

From 1 April 2023, the term ‘minor injury’ was changed to ‘threshold injury’. People involved in accidents on or after 1 April 2023 who have a ‘threshold injury’ have an entitlement of up to 52 weeks of statutory benefits.

For more information please see the FAQ ‘What is a ‘threshold injury’?

The term ‘threshold injury’ is defined in NSW motor accident compensation legislation. If you have sustained a threshold injury, legislation prescribes that you are limited to receiving 52 weeks of benefits. These benefits include treatment, home and personal care, and partial income replacement.

The legislative concept of ‘threshold injury’ results in constant disputes between insurance companies and injured people. Generally speaking, a threshold injury is identifiable as follows:

• Physical Injuries – muscular strains, whiplash and soft tissue injuries.
• Psychological Injuries – a diagnosis of adjustment disorder or acute stress disorder.

CTP insurers regularly categorise injured people as having sustained a ‘threshold injury’ due to lack of familiarity with the legal definition or as a result of failing to appropriately consider all available evidence before them. This incorrect application ultimately costs injured people, tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation and benefits. For this reason, if you have received a threshold injury determination from your CTP insurer, we urge you to seek urgent legal advice from the team at Advantage Legal.

Please note that the concept of ‘threshold injury’ and its associated timeframes only apply to the NSW motor accident compensation scheme. Alternative timeframes and thresholds exist for other statutory compensation schemes, legislation and insurance policies.

In the first instance, almost all decisions made by a CTP insurer in the NSW motor accident compensation scheme require an internal review to be completed within 28 days of receiving notice of the decision from the insurer. If that decision is maintained or is amended in a manner that you are unsatisfied with by the insurer, you can then proceed to dispute the decision in the Personal Injury Commission or Court.

The internal review and dispute resolution system can be complex for injured people to navigate without legal representation due to the strict rules and regulations involved in the process. It can also be extremely stressful for injured people who are unfamiliar with the requirements and formalities of the Personal Injury Commission or Court.

Advantage Legal can manage the dispute resolution process on your behalf and provide you with expert advice on the likely prospects of your claim. If you’d like to be represented by a team of expert compensation lawyers with decades of experience in motor accident and personal injury claims, contact our team for a free initial consultation.

Please note that if your compensation claim is not pursued through the NSW motor accident compensation scheme, alternate dispute resolution mechanisms would apply to those outlined above.

The motor accident compensation scheme provides different benefits to injured people depending on whether you sustained ‘threshold injuries’ and if you were at-fault for the accident. If you would like to know more about the legislative concept of ‘threshold injury’ please read our FAQ called What is a ‘threshold injury’?

When bringing a claim in the NSW motor accident compensation scheme, the amount of compensation you receive depends on legislative restrictions and your personal circumstances. At our initial conference, we’ll ask you details about your age, injury type and severity, your pre-accident income, how long you were absent from work for, whether you have had any prior injuries or claims and will consider whether you have an entitlement to pain and suffering. These factors along with many others will impact the amount of compensation you are entitled to.

It is important to highlight that people injured in public transport, taxi, ride share or forklift accidents often have entitlements under one or more compensation schemes and/or insurance policies. For this reason we recommend that you seek an advice from a lawyer at Advantage Legal to ensure that you aware of your full rights and entitlements.

In the NSW motor accident compensation scheme, damages claims are called ‘An Application for Common Law Damages’. These claims can be quite complex and often involve rigorous medical and legal arguments about an injured person’s accident circumstances, severity of injury or amount of compensation payable. Common features of damages claims include:

• Instructing a lawyer to represent you.
• Lodging a claim on the insurer or individual responsible for causing your injuries. This may be the driver of the public transport in question, the driver of another vehicle involved in your collision or other third-party individual, business or council.
• Investigating the circumstances of the accident, speaking with witnesses and reviewing any surveillance footage of the incident.
• Securing liability, economic loss and medical evidence in support of your claim.
• Undergoing a medical examination with a specialist medico-legal doctor(s).
• Attempting to resolve any disputes by way of negotiation at a settlement conference with the insurer or third party involved in your claim or alternatively in the Personal Injury Commission or Court.

It is not mandatory to have a lawyer represent you on your public transport, taxi, ride share or forklift accident claim. The reality of the situation however is that you are injured, stressed, unfamiliar with the compensation process and unaware of the rules that must be followed in the Personal Injury Commission or Court. Failing to engage a lawyer could ultimately cost you tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation.

Insurance companies have trained claims consultants, in-house lawyers and external legal panels who vigorously defend compensation claims. To advance your interests you will need a lawyer who understands your personal situation and has the experience and knowledge to maximise your compensation.

The Advantage Legal team have worked in insurance companies, as personal injury lawyers in personal injury compensation law firms and also as Decision Makers that resolve disputes between insurers and injured people. Our focus is on ensuring that you understand the legal process, recover from your injuries and receive maximum compensation. Your claim is about you and is worth more with Advantage Legal representing you.

NSW personal injury lawyers commonly offer to represent people who have been involved in public transport, taxi, ride share or forklift accidents on a no-win, no-fee basis when pursuing a claim in the NSW motor accident compensation scheme. If you’d like to know more about no-win, no fee billing arrangements, please read our FAQ What does No-Win, No-Fee mean?

Law firms may charge you in any manner not excluded by legislation. The most common forms of billing arrangements in NSW include:

• Hourly rates
• Fixed Fees
• Event based fees / Stage based fees

During your initial consultation, you’ll be provided with a document commonly referred to as a ‘cost agreement and disclosure’. This document outlines your relationship with the law firm you are engaging and also includes details of how you will be charged, so make sure you read it closely and understand it before signing.

At Advantage Legal, we believe that transparency of billing arrangements are important. You can obtain an update on your professional fees at any time and you’ll only pay for our professional fees and disbursements at the successful conclusion of your claim. We also offer a free initial consultation and will never ask you for interim payment of our fees.

Generally speaking the term ‘no-win, no-fee’ means that a law firm will represent you on a personal injury claim and will only charge professional fees if the claim is successful.

At Advantage Legal our no-win, no-fee promise means that you’ll only pay our professional fees and disbursements when we win your case. The inclusion of disbursements in the Advantage Legal no-win, no-fee promise in important as it could save you tens of thousands of dollars. Many law firms do not include disbursements in their no-win, no-fee arrangement, so make sure that you pursue your claim with Advantage Legal, the law firm that puts you first.

Quite often people involved in public transport, taxi, ride share or forklift accidents will have more that one form of compensation entitlement that they can pursue. It is important however for an you to understand which form of compensation has the strongest prospects of success from an early stage to avoid unnecessary legal fees.

When considering the different forms of compensation that may be available to you, our team will consider your individual circumstances, whether any other statutory compensation schemes or legislation may apply and whether you are eligible to claim under any third party or personal insurance policies.

The types of compensation claims which are typically available following a public transport, taxi, ride share or forklift accident include:

• Motor Accident Compensation
• Workers Compensation
• Public liability compensation
• TPD insurance benefits
• Personal accident insurance benefits
• Income protection insurance benefits

To obtain advice on your full compensation entitlements, contact a senior lawyer at Advantage Legal for a free initial consultation and confidential advice.

We understand that being injured in an accident can be a stressful experience. To assist you, our lawyers offer a range of different options for you to seek legal advice in your time of need, including:

• In-home consultations
• In-office consultations
• Hospital consultations
• Medical centre consultations
• Physiotherapy clinic consultation
• Video conference consultations
• Telephone consultation

Getting advice from a lawyer after an accident shouldn’t add to the stress of your situation. In fact, at Advantage Legal we pride ourselves on providing you with answers to all of your questions to give you peace of mind from the first time we see you.

Book your free initial consultation now and speak with the law firm you will put you first.

The NSW Law Society operates an accreditation program for lawyers who wish to showcase their expertise in a particular field of law. To be eligible to apply for the accreditation, NSW lawyers have to fulfil a certain criteria including, but not limited to, years of experience in the field accreditation is being sought. To attain accreditation in their chosen field, lawyers must past a series of rigorous assessment tasks. Less than 10% of lawyers in NSW will attain specialist accreditation.

Advantage Legal’s Practice Principals Ana Jaglic and Leigh Davidson have extensive experience in pursuing compensation claims on behalf of injured people and both are Accredited Specialists in Personal Injury Law.