Inner West · Car accident compensation

Car accident compensation for people in Concord

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

If you're injured and off work, the compensation question is really a household question: how will the bills get paid? For people in Concord, statutory benefits usually come first, with weekly payments based on your pre-accident earnings. A damages claim may follow if someone else was at fault and your injury is serious enough. A free claim check tells you where you stand.

Postcode: 2137

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

Benefits first, damages maybe

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

Timing, settlement and offers

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

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?

Claiming compensation from Concord

Commuting on Parramatta Road, the City West Link or the lines through Strathfield and Burwood? If an injury keeps you from your usual work, weekly payments start from what you earned before, so keep those records handy. Whether your council is the City of Canada Bay 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. If Concord Repatriation General Hospital admitted you, the dates of your stay and the time off work that followed are part of your earnings picture. Keep the discharge letter with your payslips, because lost income is assessed from both.

From Concord, the Sydney CBD is around 10 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
Inner West
Postcode
2137
Local government area
City of Canada Bay
Nearest public hospital
Concord Repatriation General Hospital
Distance to Burwood
~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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Treatment, care and the damages claim

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.

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.

  • Business records if you're self-employed
  • Rosters showing regular overtime or shifts
  • Your Certificates of Fitness
  • Letters from your employer about your role

Read next:CTP weekly payments

Weekly payments while a damages claim is pending

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

Pain and suffering: the 10% line

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.

Why no calculator can give you a figure

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?

When legal advice changes the picture

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 pre-accident earnings seem to have been set too low
  • The insurer disputes how serious your injury is
  • You may have lost some of your future earning capacity
  • Your injury may be more than threshold and another driver was at fault

You may not need one

  • The insurer is approving your treatment
  • You only need to understand how weekly payments are calculated
  • You're receiving weekly payments and they look right

If your recovery has stalled, the right treatment matters more than any figure. We can connect you with doctors and allied health experienced with CTP claims and the Certificate of Fitness, alongside legal help if you need it.

Not quite your situation?

  • If the real question is how serious your injury is in claim terms, including impairment, the injury compensation page for Concord explains it. Injury compensation lawyer in Concord
  • 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 Concord
  • If you only need the basics of weekly payments and how to lodge, the CTP claims page for Concord sets out the steps. CTP claims in Concord

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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