Sutherland Shire · Car accident compensation

How much car accident compensation? A Bonnet Bay guide

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

After a crash, most people want to know what they can claim. For people in Bonnet Bay, as anywhere in NSW, the honest answer has two parts. Statutory benefits, meaning weekly payments and treatment, are available to most injured people. Common law damages, a lump sum, are open only to some. Our free claim check looks at which applies to you, and connects you with an independent CTP lawyer if damages may be possible.

Postcode: 2226

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Compensation for people in Bonnet Bay

If The Sutherland Hospital or St George Hospital treated you, those records are part of the story of your injury. In a damages claim, pain and suffering is only available where whole person impairment is more than 10%. Whether your council is Sutherland Shire 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. From Bonnet Bay, the Sydney CBD is around 21 km away. That doesn't limit your options: an independent lawyer can run a damages claim by phone, email and video, and the claim check itself runs over the phone or online.

Region
Sutherland Shire
Postcode
2226
Local government area
Sutherland Shire Council
Nearest public hospital
The Sutherland Hospital
From the Sydney CBD
~21 km

Two kinds of compensation

The first question isn't “how much?” but “which kind?”. If your injury is a threshold injury, or you were mostly at fault, compensation is generally limited to statutory benefits for up to 52 weeks. If neither applies and someone else caused the crash, a damages claim may sit on top of your benefits.

Read next:Statutory benefits vs damages

Pain and suffering: the 10% line

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?

If your whole person impairment is 10% or less, you may still have a damages claim for lost earnings, as long as the other conditions are met.

When a damages claim can be made and settled

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?

Statutory benefits vs common law damages

A NSW CTP claim can pay two different kinds of compensation. Most injured people get the first. Only some can claim the second. Neither comes with a set figure; what you receive depends on your circumstances.

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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Do you need a lawyer to get compensation?

Most people don't need a lawyer just to receive weekly payments. When a lump sum may be involved, it's a different story. Use these lists to get your bearings.

Often worth talking to a lawyer

  • Your injuries may be above the 10% impairment line
  • Your pre-accident earnings seem to have been set too low
  • The 2-year mark is close and no damages claim has been lodged
  • The insurer disputes how serious your injury is

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 Bonnet Bay
  • Before asking what you can get, you may need to know what kind of claim you have, and the car accident claim page starts there. Car accident claim in Bonnet Bay
  • If you only need the basics of weekly payments and how to lodge, the CTP claims page for Bonnet Bay sets out the steps. CTP claims in Bonnet Bay

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

Payments beyond 104 weeks depend on a damages claim being pending. The 3-year limit is the outer edge for damages, but the 2-year mark is the one that protects weekly payments.

Read next:CTP weekly payments

What damages generally don't include

Common law damages in the NSW CTP scheme generally don't include treatment and care costs, or gratuitous care, which is unpaid care from family and friends. Treatment and care continues through statutory benefits instead, within the limits that apply to you. That's a real difference from some other compensation systems, and it's worth knowing before you estimate anything.

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
  • Tax returns and notices of assessment
  • Evidence of a recent pay rise or promotion
  • Rosters showing regular overtime or shifts

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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