The Hills · Car accident compensation

How much car accident compensation? A Maraylya guide

Statutory benefits for most people. Damages for some. Here's how to tell which applies to you.

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 Maraylya 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.

Postcode: 2765

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Claiming compensation from Maraylya

Westmead Hospital and Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital records can shape a claim years later. Where whole person impairment is more than 10%, the door opens to damages for pain and suffering. Whether your council is The Hills Shire 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. Understanding your compensation options doesn't require a trip to Windsor. From Maraylya, 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
The Hills
Postcode
2765
Local government area
The Hills Shire Council
Public hospital in the region
Westmead Hospital
Distance to Windsor
~9 km

How NSW CTP compensation is structured

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

Timing, settlement and offers

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?

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.

Statutory benefits vs common law damages

It helps to see the two side by side. The points below are general and depend on your accident date, so treat them as a guide to the right questions rather than an answer.

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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Could a damages claim be open to you?

Our claim check is free, by phone or online, with no obligation. Where a damages claim looks possible, we can introduce you to an independent lawyer.

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Do you need a lawyer to get compensation?

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

  • The insurer disputes how serious your injury is
  • The 2-year mark is close and no damages claim has been lodged
  • A family member died and dependants may have a claim
  • Your injuries may be above the 10% impairment line

You may not need one

  • You were mostly at fault and don't dispute it
  • You're receiving weekly payments and they look right
  • Your injury is a threshold injury and you agree with that

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 Maraylya explains it. Injury compensation lawyer in Maraylya
  • 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 Maraylya
  • If you only need the basics of weekly payments and how to lodge, the CTP claims page for Maraylya sets out the steps. CTP claims in Maraylya

Loss of earnings

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.

  • Tax returns and notices of assessment
  • Evidence of a recent pay rise or promotion
  • Your Certificates of Fitness
  • Records of any income since the accident

Read next:CTP weekly payments

When weekly payments can run past 2 years

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

When pain and suffering can be claimed

Where your injury sits against the 10% line is often unclear early on, and it isn't something to guess. Some injuries are plainly above it and many are below it. How and when impairment is assessed is a subject of its own; for compensation, what matters is that pain and suffering damages depend on the line, while lost-earnings damages don't.

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.

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

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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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