Port Macquarie Car Accident Solicitor - NSW Compensation Claim

LAWYER HELPLINE: ☎ 1800 224 077

Port Macquarie Car Accident Solicitors are experts at dealing with insurers and meeting the needs of their clients, with expert knowledge of the compensation and benefit system. Contact us via our online contact form or free helpline for obligation free advice on your claim.

Who can claim?

A particular scheme, known as the Compulsory Third Party Insurance (CTP) scheme exists in New South Wales, overseen by the Motor Accidents Authority, which covers accidents on road, rail and water for both drivers and passengers and all who can be injured in such an accident.

Whatever your involvement in the accident, whether driver, passenger, bike rider or pedestrian, you will be able to claim as long you are able to show that you were not completely at fault for the accident.

Even if you were partly to blame then you will be able to make a claim for expenses and benefits. However, the amount of compensation that you will be entitled to will be less than if you were entirely free of blame. If you were drunk, or were a passenger in a vehicle where you knew that the driver was drunk, if you failed to wear a seatbelt or if as a motorbike rider you failed to wear a helmet, you may be found partly to blame for an accident.

Workers’ Compensation may also be payable if you were involved in an accident and you were injured while on the way to or from work.

Blameless Accidents

The NSW legislation that covers accidents mostly works on a ‘no fault’ system, where successful claims are as a result of proving that another driver is at fault. However, under certain conditions, a claim can be made through the CTP scheme regardless of where blame lies for the accident.

The first of these conditions involves children under 16 who have been involved in an accident. In such cases a claim for benefits and compensation can be made to cover medical expenses as well as care and rehabilitation services, regardless of where the blame for the accident lies.

The second condition covers situations where a person has been injured by the mechanical failure of another driver’s car or where the other driver has undergone a sudden illness (such as a stroke) that has led to an accident. In these cases however, the driver of the vehicle whose car underwent mechanical failure or had a sudden illness will not be able to claim, and neither will a driver be able to claim if they were the only vehicle involved in an accident. This is also applicable for motorcycle riders.

Lifetime Care and Support Scheme

Where injury from a motor vehicle accident is serious, then there may be a case of eligibility for assistance from the LTCS (Lifetime Care and Support Scheme). This scheme is designed to provide treatment, rehabilitation and care services in the case of long-term or lifelong injury when extra care is required.

Examples of cases where such care may be required include brain or spinal injury, multiple amputations, serious burns, and loss of sight and other disabilities. In the cases of accidents where such serious injuries occur, care is available regardless of who was to blame for the cause of the accident.

Adults injured in accidents on or after 1st October 2007 and children under the age of 16 who were injured in motor accidents on or after 1st October 2006 are entitled to help under this scheme.

Compensation Benefits under CTP Scheme

Any treatments or services that are deemed “reasonable and necessary” can be claimed for under the scheme, including :-

Hospital and medical services.
Travel expenses (e.g. to and from hospital appointments) .
Care expenses.
Loss of income & loss of ability to earn income in the future.

Pain and Suffering

Should you have been sufficiently injured that significant pain and suffering has been caused and/or your quality of life has been seriously affected, then you may be entitled to further compensation as a result of this, for which medical evidence will be needed to show that this is indeed the case.

It will be helpful to engage the services of a lawyer in these cases, as there are limits on the amount of compensation that can be claimed for pain suffering, and expert advice will help you to maximise your benefits.

Unidentified & Uninsured Vehicles

If you are injured in an accident caused by an uninsured vehicle or a vehicle that cannot be identified, then you may be entitled to make a claim to the Nominal Defendant, under a special provision of the scheme to allow for these cases, and you will need to satisfy certain criteria to show that the vehicle was unidentified.

Claims in the Case of Death

In the case of death as a result of a motor vehicle accident, then close family may be entitled to claim for certain services and benefits. These include funeral expenses, the expense of replacing care that was given and loss of financial support, all covered by the Compensation to Relatives Act.

When Can I Claim?

You should claim as soon as possible, and certainly within six months of the date of the accident. Claiming after this period may affect your compensation entitlement. The Police should also be informed of the accident within 28 days.

Our No Win No Fee Service

We provide a free, no-obligation, no win no fee service to our clients. You can contact us for a free consultation by either calling our free helpline or by completing the contact form. We will help you whatever your circumstances to get the compensation that you are entitled to as a result of your motor vehicle accident injury.