Sydney CBD & inner city · Car accident compensation

How much car accident compensation? A Moore Park guide

No figures, no guesses. Just what compensation can include and what the amount depends on.

The compensation available after a car accident in NSW isn't a single figure. It's a set of entitlements that turn on the facts. Most people in Moore Park who are injured can get weekly payments and treatment. Some can also claim a lump sum for lost earnings and, in serious cases, pain and suffering. We'll help you work out which group you're in, free and with no obligation.

Postcode: 2021

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  • By phone & online, no office to visit
  • Helping people in Moore Park & Centennial Park

Moore Park: what shapes your compensation

If St Vincent's Hospital, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital or Sydney Hospital treated you, keep every report. If a damages claim later turns on the 10% impairment line, those early records help show how serious the injury was from the start. Coming under the City of Sydney has no bearing on compensation. Someone in Moore Park 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 Moore Park, the Sydney CBD is around 3 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
Sydney CBD & inner city
Postcode
2021
Local government area
City of Sydney
Nearest public hospital
St Vincent's Hospital
From the Sydney CBD
~3 km

Benefits first, damages maybe

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

When pain and suffering can be claimed

Many people assume every injury attracts compensation for pain. In the NSW CTP scheme it doesn't. Non-economic loss damages require whole person impairment of more than 10%, and you still need to meet the other damages conditions: someone else at fault, you not mostly at fault, and more than a threshold injury.

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 weekly payments can run past 2 years

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

The two kinds of CTP compensation

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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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

  • The insurer disputes how serious your injury is
  • An offer to settle has come from the insurer
  • Fault is disputed or shared
  • A family member died and dependants may have a claim

You may not need one

  • The insurer is approving your treatment
  • You're receiving weekly payments and they look right
  • Your injury is a threshold injury and you agree with that

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 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 Moore Park
  • 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 Moore Park
  • 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 Moore Park

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%.

  • Payslips from before the accident
  • Business records if you're self-employed
  • Rosters showing regular overtime or shifts
  • Records of any income since the accident

Read next:CTP weekly payments

Timing, settlement and offers

Unless your whole person impairment is assessed as more than 10%, a damages claim generally can't be made until 20 months after the accident. It generally can't be settled within 2 years of the accident unless impairment is more than 10%. And the claim must generally be made within 3 years of the accident, with only limited room for a late claim that comes with a full and satisfactory explanation.

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?

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.

Online estimates and their limits

Online compensation calculators can't account for the things that actually decide a CTP claim: whether your injury is more than threshold, who was at fault, your whole person impairment, your earnings history and your accident date. A figure produced without those facts isn't a guide; it's a guess. That's why we don't publish one.

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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