If you are injured in a motor accident in NSW, are you entitled to compensation?
Yes. You have the right to compensation. The extent of compensation you receive depends on your level of fault, the circumstances of the accident, as well as your level of injury.
Do you have to be a driver or passenger to claim motor vehicle accident compensation?
No. When we say motor vehicle accident, vehicles such as car, truck, forklift accident are mentioned. And it doesn’t matter if you’re a cyclist, motorcyclist, or pedestrian. If you have been involved in an accident, you may be entitled to compensation.
What can you claim for compensation? Are there certain conditions for you to claim compensation?
If you are not entirely at fault for the accident, or if your injury is not a soft tissue injury known as a minor injury, you have the right to demand the following:
- your future income loss,
- your medical expenses,
- compensation for pain and suffering,
- also, you may be eligible to make a claim for common law if your injuries are assessed at being greater than 10% whole person impairment.
So, if you are at fault, can you claim compensation for a car accident?
Yes, but the extent of compensation is less depending on whether you are wholly at fault or just partially or not at fault. If the accident was wholly your fault, you are still entitled to claim medical expenses.
How to claim compensation after a motor vehicle accident? What are the steps?
- Report the accident to the police within 28 days of the accident and get an “event number”
- Have your doctor fill out the “MedicalCertificate”.
- Then fill out the “Application for Personal İnjury Benefits” form.
- Contact the Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurer of the fault vehicle.(The maximum time for this application period is 3 months. But the ideal is to do it within 28 days. Because you may not get a refund for the days off after the accident)
- Contact Sydney compensation lawyers to determine if you are eligible to make a common law claim which entitles you to a lump sum payment to include for wages and medical expenses beyond 6 months in addition to compensation for pain and suffering. You have 3 years to make a common law claim.
What is a soft tissue injury?
A soft tissue injury is a damage to tissue that links, supports, or surrounds other body structures or organs (such as muscles, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage), but not nerves or tendons, ligaments, menisci, or cartilage.
If you have a soft tissue injury, you will get a notice from the CTP Insurer at the end of the 6-month period telling you that your benefits will be terminated since your injuries are soft tissue. If you disagree, you have the right to request an internal review and then a review by SIRA.
Do you have to work with a lawyer to claim motor vehicle accident compensation?
No. However, since the compensation you will receive will vary depending on the circumstances, these conditions should be explained very well. For this reason, meeting with compensation lawyers will ensure that the process is managed correctly.
