South Coast & Shoalhaven · Car accident compensation

What car accident compensation covers in Narooma

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

If you're injured and off work, the compensation question is really a household question: how will the bills get paid? For people in Narooma, 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: 2546

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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

Gaps people don't expect

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.

Narooma: what shapes your compensation

If your income rises and falls with the holiday seasons on the South Coast, keep records from the full year before the crash. Pre-accident earnings can take account of higher income earned in those 12 months. 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 Eurobodalla Shire Council as in every other council area. Specialists you see through Shoalhaven District Memorial Hospital may later be asked about your capacity to work. Their opinions can shape a claim for future lost earnings, so tell them about the work you did before the crash, not just your symptoms.

From Narooma, the Sydney CBD is around 279 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
South Coast & Shoalhaven
Postcode
2546
Local government area
Eurobodalla Shire Council
Public hospital in the region
Shoalhaven District Memorial Hospital
From the Sydney CBD
~279 km

The two kinds of CTP compensation

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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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.

Compensation for income you've lost

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.

  • Payslips from before the accident
  • Evidence of a recent pay rise or promotion
  • Rosters showing regular overtime or shifts
  • Records of any income since the accident

Read next:CTP weekly payments

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

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

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

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?

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?

Compensation claims: lawyer or not?

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

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

You may not need one

  • The insurer is approving your treatment
  • You were mostly at fault and don't dispute it
  • You only need to understand how weekly payments are calculated

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

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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