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 Faulconbridge 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.
Blue Mountains · Car accident compensation
Car accident compensation in Faulconbridge: what and when
A free check by phone or online. If damages may be open to you, we'll connect you with an independent lawyer.
Postcode: 2776
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- Helping people in Faulconbridge & Springwood
Benefits first, damages maybe
It's easier to ask what each part pays for. Statutory benefits pay for time off work and for treatment and care, 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
Gaps people don't expect
If a family member has been driving you around or helping at home, you might expect that to be compensated. Under the current NSW scheme, damages generally don't cover that kind of gratuitous care. Nor do they generally cover treatment and care costs, which are handled through statutory benefits. The rules for your accident date are worth checking.
Faulconbridge: what shapes your compensation
If you commute on the Blue Mountains Line or the Great Western Highway and can't any more, your compensation reflects your own earnings history. Keep payslips and tax returns from the year before the accident. Council boundaries don't change what you can claim. Compensation under the NSW CTP scheme depends on your injury, your earnings and fault, and the same rules apply under Blue Mountains City Council as in every other council area. Understanding your compensation options doesn't require a trip to Penrith. From Faulconbridge, 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
- Blue Mountains
- Postcode
- 2776
- Local government area
- Blue Mountains City Council
- Distance to Penrith
- ~16 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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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?
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 the injury affects your work
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%.
- Evidence of a recent pay rise or promotion
- Rosters showing regular overtime or shifts
- Your Certificates of Fitness
- Records of any income since the accident
Read next:CTP weekly payments
Timing, settlement and offers
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.
Payments beyond the 104-week mark
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
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?
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
- The 2-year mark is close and no damages claim has been lodged
- You may have lost some of your future earning capacity
- An offer to settle has come from the insurer
- Fault is disputed or shared
You may not need one
- You were mostly at fault and don't dispute it
- You've recovered and are back at your usual work
- The insurer's benefit decisions look right to you
Damages claims run on a clock. A claim must generally be made within 3 years of the accident, and within 2 years if you want weekly payments to continue past that point. CTP claim time limits
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 Faulconbridge
- 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 Faulconbridge
- If you only need the basics of weekly payments and how to lodge, the CTP claims page for Faulconbridge sets out the steps. CTP claims in Faulconbridge
Frequently asked questions
Possibly, and you don't have to work it out alone. Close relatives who were financially dependent on the person who died, such as a spouse or de facto partner, parent, child or sibling, may be able to claim for the financial support and domestic services they've lost. This generally depends on the person who died not being mostly at fault. Try to lodge within 3 months of the crash; claims must generally be made within 3 years. CTP Assist (1300 656 919) can connect you with a Principal Liaison Coordinator.
Not for NSW CTP claims. Compensation depends on facts a calculator can't assess, such as whether your injury is more than threshold, your whole person impairment, your share of fault and your earnings history. Many of those aren't known until well into a claim. Treat any online figure with caution, and focus instead on the questions that decide your entitlements.
The same principles apply, but proving earnings takes more paperwork. Tax returns, business activity statements, accountant's records and contracts help show what you earned before the accident. If your business was growing, records from the year before the crash can matter. Gather them early, because the insurer relies on them for weekly payments, and they matter again in any damages claim.
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.
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.
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 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.
Car accident compensation: suburbs near Faulconbridge
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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.