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 Dolls Point 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.
St George & Bayside · Car accident compensation
Car accident compensation after a crash near Dolls Point
No figures, no guesses. Just what compensation can include and what the amount depends on.
Postcode: 2219
- Free claim check, no obligation
- By phone & online, no office to visit
- Helping people in Dolls Point & Sandringham
Dolls Point: what shapes your compensation
If the Illawarra Line or the M5 East got you to work and the injury has stopped that, your lost earnings are measured against your own pre-accident income, which can reflect higher pay in the 12 months before the crash. Whether your council is Bayside 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. If St George 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.
Dolls Point is about 5 km south-east of Hurstville, 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
- St George & Bayside
- Postcode
- 2219
- Local government area
- Bayside Council
- Nearest public hospital
- St George Hospital
- Distance to Hurstville
- ~5 km
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
Loss of earnings
Lost income is covered at two stages. Weekly payments replace part of your earnings as you go: up to 95% of pre-accident earnings for 13 weeks, then up to 80% or 85%. A damages claim can also include past and future loss of earnings, called economic loss, if you qualify. Economic loss damages don't require impairment above 10%.
- Tax returns and notices of assessment
- Evidence of a recent pay rise or promotion
- Letters from your employer about your role
- Records of any income since the accident
Read next:CTP weekly payments
Non-economic loss explained
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?
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.
The two kinds of CTP compensation
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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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 pre-accident earnings seem to have been set too low
- An offer to settle has come from the insurer
- Your injury may be more than threshold and another driver was at fault
- The 2-year mark is close and no damages claim has been lodged
You may not need one
- Your injury is a threshold injury and you agree with that
- You were mostly at fault and don't dispute it
- The insurer is approving your treatment
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 Dolls Point explains it. Injury compensation lawyer in Dolls Point
- 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 Dolls Point
- For the day-to-day side of weekly payments, such as rates, certificates and the case manager, the CTP claims page is the better fit. CTP claims in Dolls Point
Weekly payments while a damages claim is pending
Weekly payments are where statutory benefits and damages overlap. A pending damages claim can stretch weekly payments past the usual 104 weeks: to as long as 156 weeks for impairment at or below the 10% line, or 260 weeks where impairment is more than 10%. Because a damages claim generally can't be made until 20 months after the accident unless impairment is above 10%, the window to lodge in time for this is narrow.
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
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
If the insurer makes an offer, take your time. Ask what it covers, what it assumes about your future earnings and whether it accounts for all your injuries. An independent CTP lawyer can check it against the evidence. Accepting generally ends your damages claim, so it's worth a careful look before you sign anything.
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.
Online estimates and their limits
It's natural to want a number. But in the NSW scheme, compensation depends on assessments that haven't happened yet in most claims, such as impairment and future earning capacity. Any figure given early, by a website or anyone else, should be treated with caution. A careful look at your facts is more useful than an estimate.
Read next:Can I claim damages?
Frequently asked questions
Generally not until 20 months after the accident, unless your whole person impairment is assessed as more than 10%. The claim must generally be made within 3 years of the accident. If you want weekly payments to continue beyond 2 years, lodge the damages claim within 2 years of the accident. Because these dates interact, it's worth getting advice well before the 2-year mark.
No one can tell you that without knowing your facts, and we don't publish figures. Compensation depends on your injuries, your pre-accident earnings, whether someone else was at fault, whether your injury is more than a threshold injury, your whole person impairment and your accident date. Most people receive statutory benefits. Some can also claim damages. A free claim check helps you understand which applies to you.
They can. The usual end point is 104 weeks, but a common law damages claim you've lodged that is still pending can extend them: to as long as 156 weeks where whole person impairment is 10% or less, or 260 weeks where it's more than 10%. The extension only works if the damages claim went in within 2 years of the accident, so the timing of your claim matters.
Get advice before you accept any offer. A settlement generally ends your damages claim for good, so it needs to reflect your lost earnings and, where relevant, pain and suffering, based on reliable medical evidence. An independent CTP lawyer can check whether the offer takes account of your future. There's no obligation to accept an offer simply because it has been made.
Only if your whole person impairment is more than 10%, and only as part of a common law damages claim. That means another driver must have been at fault, you must not have been mostly at fault, and your injury must be more than a threshold injury. If your impairment is 10% or less, you may still claim damages for lost earnings.
Generally from your income before the accident, using payslips, tax returns or business records. Amendments passed in 2022 allow pre-accident earnings to reflect a higher income earned in the 12 months before the accident, and your actual earnings after it are also taken into account. If your income had recently risen, tell the insurer and provide the evidence. Errors here affect every weekly payment.
Car accident compensation: suburbs near Dolls Point
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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.