Upper North Shore & Hornsby · Car accident compensation

Car accident compensation for people in Berowra Creek

Weekly payments, treatment, lost earnings and the 10% line, explained for NSW CTP claims.

Compensation in a NSW CTP claim depends on your injury, your earnings, who was at fault and your accident date, not on your postcode. If you live in Berowra Creek and want to understand what you might be entitled to, start with the two kinds of compensation below, then use our free claim check to see which applies and whether legal advice would help.

Postcode: 2082

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  • Helping people in Berowra Creek & Cowan

Berowra Creek: what shapes your compensation

If you commute on the M1, NorthConnex or Pennant Hills Road and the crash has stopped you working, future lost earnings may form part of a damages claim, provided someone else was at fault and your injury is more than threshold. Coming under Hornsby Shire Council has no bearing on compensation. Someone in Berowra Creek and someone at the other end of the state are assessed under the same NSW rules, based on their injuries, their earnings and who was at fault. Specialists you see through Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital may later be asked about your capacity to work. Their opinions can shape a claim for future lost earnings, so tell them about the work you did before the crash, not just your symptoms.

Berowra Creek is about 20 km north of Hornsby, and you don't need to travel there for advice about compensation. Our claim check is by phone and online, and lawyers who handle damages claims can generally work the same way.

Region
Upper North Shore & Hornsby
Postcode
2082
Local government area
Hornsby Shire Council
Public hospital in the region
Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital
Distance to Hornsby
~20 km

How NSW CTP compensation is structured

It's easier to ask what each part pays for. Statutory benefits pay for time off work and for treatment, from early in the claim, and most people get them whoever was at fault. Damages pay for the longer-term cost of the injury: earnings you've lost or will lose and, where impairment is above the 10% line, pain and suffering. The two sit side by side rather than one replacing the other.

Read next:Statutory benefits vs damages

Compensation for income you've lost

Your pre-accident earnings are the anchor for both weekly payments and economic loss damages. Since amendments passed in 2022, pre-accident earnings can reflect higher income in the 12 months before the accident, and actual earnings after the accident are also considered. If you'd recently had a pay rise, a promotion or more shifts, make sure the insurer knows.

  • Payslips from before the accident
  • Evidence of a recent pay rise or promotion
  • Rosters showing regular overtime or shifts
  • Your Certificates of Fitness

Read next:CTP weekly payments

Non-economic loss explained

Many people assume every injury attracts compensation for pain. In the NSW CTP scheme it doesn't. Non-economic loss damages require whole person impairment of more than 10%, and you still need to meet the other damages conditions: someone else at fault, you not mostly at fault, and more than a threshold injury.

10% or less?

Impairment of 10% or less doesn't end a damages claim. It rules out pain and suffering, but economic loss can still be claimed if you otherwise qualify.

Statutory benefits vs common law damages

It helps to see the two side by side. The points below are general and depend on your accident date, so treat them as a guide to the right questions rather than an answer.

Statutory benefits

  • Available to most injured people, regardless of fault
  • Weekly payments: up to 95% of pre-accident earnings, then up to 80% or 85%
  • Treatment and care that is reasonable and necessary
  • Up to 52 weeks for a threshold injury or if mostly at fault (accidents from 1 April 2023)
  • Weekly payments generally end at 104 weeks unless a damages claim is pending
  • Claim within 28 days for back-paid weekly payments

Common law damages

  • Only if another driver was at fault and you weren't mostly at fault
  • Your injury must be more than a threshold injury
  • Can include past and future lost earnings
  • Pain and suffering only if whole person impairment is more than 10%
  • Generally doesn't include treatment and care or unpaid care from family
  • Generally must be claimed within 3 years of the accident

General information, not legal advice. We give no dollar figures because every claim is different. Time limits apply.

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Compensation claims: lawyer or not?

Whether legal help is worth it depends on which kind of compensation you're pursuing and whether anything is in dispute. Here's a general guide to both sides.

Often worth talking to a lawyer

  • An offer to settle has come from the insurer
  • The 2-year mark is close and no damages claim has been lodged
  • Fault is disputed or shared
  • Your pre-accident earnings seem to have been set too low

You may not need one

  • The insurer is approving your treatment
  • You've recovered and are back at your usual work
  • You only need to understand how weekly payments are calculated

Your treating team shapes the evidence for lost earnings, starting with the Certificate of Fitness. If you don't have a team yet, doctors and allied health practitioners who work with CTP claims are a sensible place to start.

Not quite your situation?

What damages generally don't include

CTP covers personal injury only, so vehicle repairs sit outside it altogether and are generally a matter for your own car insurer or the at-fault driver's insurer. Within the injury claim, damages generally cover lost earnings and, above 10% impairment, pain and suffering, while treatment stays with statutory benefits. If you've paid for treatment yourself, keep the receipts and raise them with the insurer as a statutory benefits question.

Timing, settlement and offers

The timing rules for damages, which generally rule out a claim before 20 months and a settlement within 2 years unless impairment is more than 10%, give injuries time to stabilise before they're valued. A claim resolved too early may not reflect how the injury turns out. That's one reason to get advice before accepting any offer: a settlement generally ends the claim for good, and once it's signed there's usually no going back.

Before you accept an offer

Settlement offers are worth a second opinion. The lawyer you speak with can check what the offer covers and whether the timing suits your recovery.

Read next:CTP settlementsShould I accept the first offer?

Weekly payments while a damages claim is pending

If you're still off work as the 2-year mark approaches, plan early. Weekly payments generally end at 104 weeks unless a damages claim is pending, and only a claim lodged inside the first 2 years keeps them going. Whether you can claim damages at all depends on fault and on your injury being more than threshold, so it's worth getting advice well before month 20.

The 2-year lodging rule

To keep weekly payments going past 2 years, lodge the damages claim within 2 years of the accident. Waiting until the general 3-year limit can mean payments stop in the meantime.

Read next:CTP weekly payments

The problem with compensation calculators

Instead of a figure, get clarity on the questions that matter. Is your injury more than threshold? Were you mostly at fault? What did you earn before? Could impairment exceed 10%? Our free claim check works through those questions, and where a damages claim is possible, we'll connect you with an independent lawyer.

Read next:Can I claim damages?

Frequently asked questions

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CTP Lawyer is not a law firm. This page is general information, not legal advice; the independent lawyer you speak with can advise on your own situation.

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