Liverpool & Fairfield · Car accident compensation

Understanding car accident compensation in Liverpool

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 Liverpool, 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: 2170

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Two kinds of compensation

NSW CTP compensation comes in two parts. Statutory benefits, meaning weekly payments and treatment and care, are paid as you go and are available to most injured people regardless of fault. Common law damages are a lump sum, open only where another driver was at fault, you weren't mostly at fault and your injury is more than a threshold injury.

Read next:Statutory benefits vs damages

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

Your work, your injury and your claim in Liverpool

Records from Liverpool Hospital, Fairfield Hospital and Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital can matter long after the crash. If your injury may be above the 10% impairment line, those early notes help. 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 Liverpool City Council as in every other council area. From Liverpool, the Sydney CBD is around 27 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
Liverpool & Fairfield
Postcode
2170
Local government area
Liverpool City Council
Nearest public hospital
Liverpool Hospital
From the Sydney CBD
~27 km

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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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.

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

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.

Compensation for income you've lost

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%.

  • Payslips from before the accident
  • Evidence of a recent pay rise or promotion
  • Your Certificates of Fitness
  • Records of any income since the accident

Read next:CTP weekly payments

Why no calculator can give you a figure

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?

Do you need a lawyer to get compensation?

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

  • The insurer disputes how serious your injury is
  • The 2-year mark is close and no damages claim has been lodged
  • Your pre-accident earnings seem to have been set too low
  • A family member died and dependants may have a claim

You may not need one

  • You were mostly at fault and don't dispute it
  • You're receiving weekly payments and they look right
  • You've recovered and are back at your usual work

Compensation turns on medical evidence, from your first Certificate of Fitness to any later assessment. We can point you to doctors and allied health who understand CTP claims and keep clear records.

Not quite your situation?

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

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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