Newcastle & the Hunter · Car accident compensation

Understanding car accident compensation in Maitland

A free check by phone or online. If damages may be open to you, we'll connect you with an independent lawyer.

After a crash, most people want to know what they can claim. For people in Maitland, 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: 2320

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  • Helping people in Maitland & East Maitland

Compensation for people in Maitland

If John Hunter Hospital, Calvary Mater Newcastle or Maitland Hospital treated you, keep those records. A damages claim for pain and suffering depends on whole person impairment above 10%. Coming under Maitland City Council has no bearing on compensation. Someone in Maitland and someone at the other end of the state are assessed under the same NSW rules, based on their injuries, their earnings and who was at fault. From Maitland, the Sydney CBD is around 130 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
Newcastle & the Hunter
Postcode
2320
Local government area
Maitland City Council
Nearest public hospital
Maitland Hospital
From the Sydney CBD
~130 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

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%.

  • Tax returns and notices of assessment
  • Business records if you're self-employed
  • Your Certificates of Fitness
  • Records of any income since the accident

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

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

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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Compensation claims: lawyer or not?

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 injury may be more than threshold and another driver was at fault
  • You may have lost some of your future earning capacity
  • The insurer disputes how serious your injury is
  • Your injuries may be above the 10% impairment line

You may not need one

  • You're receiving weekly payments and they look right
  • You've recovered and are back at your usual work
  • Your injury is a threshold injury and you agree with that

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 the real question is how serious your injury is in claim terms, including impairment, the injury compensation page for Maitland explains it. Injury compensation lawyer in Maitland
  • 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 Maitland
  • 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 Maitland

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?

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

The timing rules for damages, which generally rule out a claim before 20 months and a settlement within 2 years unless impairment is more than 10%, give injuries time to stabilise before they're valued. A claim resolved too early may not reflect how the injury turns out. That's one reason to get advice before accepting any offer: a settlement generally ends the claim for good, and once it's signed there's usually no going back.

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?

Treatment, care and the damages claim

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.

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?

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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