Canterbury-Bankstown · Car accident compensation

Car accident compensation in Picnic Point: what and when

Weekly payments, treatment, lost earnings and the 10% line, explained for NSW CTP claims.

“How much will I get?” is the question everyone asks, and the true answer is that it depends. It depends on whether your injury is more than a threshold injury, whether someone else was at fault, what you earned before and your whole person impairment. For people in Picnic Point, our free claim check sorts out which of these apply before you commit to anything.

Postcode: 2213

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Picnic Point: what shapes your compensation

Hurt on the Hume Highway, Canterbury Road or the M5? If Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital treated you, keep those records, because a claim for pain and suffering depends on whole person impairment above 10%. Coming under the City of Canterbury-Bankstown has no bearing on compensation. Someone in Picnic Point 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. Understanding your compensation options doesn't require a trip to Bankstown. From Picnic Point, 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
Canterbury-Bankstown
Postcode
2213
Local government area
City of Canterbury-Bankstown
Nearest public hospital
Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital
Distance to Bankstown
~6 km

How NSW CTP compensation is structured

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

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
  • Letters from your employer about your role
  • Records of any income since the accident

Read next:CTP weekly payments

Pain and suffering: the 10% line

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.

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?

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

  • An offer to settle has come from the insurer
  • Your injury may be more than threshold and another driver was at fault
  • Your injuries may be above the 10% impairment line
  • Your pre-accident earnings seem to have been set too low

You may not need one

  • You've recovered and are back at your usual work
  • You're receiving weekly payments and they look right
  • You only need to understand how weekly payments are calculated

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?

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.

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

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?

Payments beyond the 104-week mark

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

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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