South Coast & Shoalhaven · Car accident compensation

Car accident compensation for people in Bomaderry

A free check by phone or online. If damages may be open to you, we'll connect you with an independent lawyer.

No one can tell you what your claim is worth from a web page, and you should be cautious of anyone who tries. What we can explain is how compensation works for people in Bomaderry: what each part covers, who qualifies and what the amount depends on. Many people only ever need statutory benefits. Where a damages claim is possible, an independent lawyer's advice matters.

Postcode: 2541

  • Free claim check, no obligation
  • By phone & online, no office to visit
  • Helping people in Bomaderry & Nowra

Two kinds of compensation

Think of statutory benefits as the support that keeps you going while you recover, and damages as compensation for what the injury has cost you over the longer term. You can receive benefits without ever claiming damages, and many people do. Damages are a separate claim with their own timing, evidence and rules.

Read next:Statutory benefits vs damages

Compensation for income you've lost

If the injury means you can't return to the work you did, or can only work fewer hours, that loss can stretch well into the future. In a damages claim, future economic loss looks at what you would likely have earned if the crash hadn't happened. Evidence matters: payslips, tax returns, employer letters and medical opinions about your capacity.

  • Tax returns and notices of assessment
  • Business records if you're self-employed
  • Letters from your employer about your role
  • Records of any income since the accident

Read next:CTP weekly payments

Your work, your injury and your claim in Bomaderry

If Shoalhaven District Memorial Hospital, Milton-Ulladulla Hospital or South East Regional Hospital treated you, keep the records. They support the picture of your injury if you later make a damages claim. Whether your council is Shoalhaven City Council or another one in NSW, the CTP rules on weekly payments, treatment and damages are the same. What moves the amount is your injury and your earnings, not your address. Understanding your compensation options doesn't require a trip to Nowra. From Bomaderry, the claim check happens by phone and online, and if a damages claim is possible, the lawyer you speak with can generally advise remotely too.

Region
South Coast & Shoalhaven
Postcode
2541
Local government area
Shoalhaven City Council
Nearest public hospital
Shoalhaven District Memorial Hospital
Distance to Nowra
~4 km

Statutory benefits vs common law damages

Here's how the two parts of CTP compensation compare. Statutory benefits start early and are available to most people. Damages come later, if at all, and have stricter entry rules.

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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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.

Why damages take time

Unless your whole person impairment is assessed as more than 10%, a damages claim generally can't be made until 20 months after the accident. It generally can't be settled within 2 years of the accident unless impairment is more than 10%. And the claim must generally be made within 3 years of the accident, with only limited room for a late claim that comes with a full and satisfactory explanation.

Before you accept an offer

Get advice before accepting any settlement offer. A settlement generally ends your damages claim, and once signed it's usually final.

Read next:CTP settlementsShould I accept the first offer?

When pain and suffering can be claimed

Damages for pain and suffering, called non-economic loss, are only available if your whole person impairment is more than 10%. Below that line, a damages claim, if you have one, is limited to economic loss. This surprises many people, and it's one of the main reasons two claims that look similar can end very differently.

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.

Payments beyond the 104-week mark

Weekly payments generally stop after 104 weeks, or 2 years. They can continue if you've lodged a common law damages claim that is still pending: up to 156 weeks, or 3 years, where your whole person impairment is 10% or less, and up to 260 weeks, or 5 years, where it's more than 10%. The catch is timing. To keep payments going beyond 2 years, the damages claim must be lodged within 2 years of the accident.

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

Online compensation calculators can't account for the things that actually decide a CTP claim: whether your injury is more than threshold, who was at fault, your whole person impairment, your earnings history and your accident date. A figure produced without those facts isn't a guide; it's a guess. That's why we don't publish one.

Read next:Can I claim damages?

When legal advice changes the picture

Statutory benefits often run without a lawyer. Damages claims usually involve one. These lists show common situations, and your own claim check can confirm where you sit.

Often worth talking to a lawyer

  • Your injuries may be above the 10% impairment line
  • The insurer disputes how serious your injury is
  • Fault is disputed or shared
  • The 2-year mark is close and no damages claim has been lodged

You may not need one

  • You only need to understand how weekly payments are calculated
  • You've recovered and are back at your usual work
  • You're receiving weekly payments and they look right

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?

  • If your injury is serious and you want to know how impairment is assessed and where the threshold line falls, the injury compensation page covers it. Injury compensation lawyer in Bomaderry
  • If it isn't clear yet whether this is a CTP injury claim, a damage claim or something else, begin with the car accident claim page. Car accident claim in Bomaderry
  • If you only need the basics of weekly payments and how to lodge, the CTP claims page for Bomaderry sets out the steps. CTP claims in Bomaderry

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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