After a crash, most people want to know what they can claim. For people in Rodd Point, 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.
Inner West · Car accident compensation
Car accident compensation in Rodd Point: what and when
A free check by phone or online. If damages may be open to you, we'll connect you with an independent lawyer.
Postcode: 2046
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- Helping people in Rodd Point & Russell Lea
Rodd Point: what shapes your compensation
Commuting on Parramatta Road, the City West Link or the lines through Strathfield and Burwood? If an injury keeps you from your usual work, weekly payments start from what you earned before, so keep those records handy. Coming under the City of Canada Bay has no bearing on compensation. Someone in Rodd 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. Specialists you see through Royal Prince Alfred 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 Rodd Point, the Sydney CBD is around 6 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
- Inner West
- Postcode
- 2046
- Local government area
- City of Canada Bay
- Nearest public hospital
- Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
- Distance to Burwood
- ~4 km
Benefits first, damages maybe
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
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?
Impairment of 10% or less doesn't end a damages claim. It rules out pain and suffering, but economic loss can still be claimed if you otherwise qualify.
Why damages take time
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.
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.
Free claim check
Could a damages claim be open to you?
Call (02) 7238 7379 or start online. It's free, there's no obligation, and you'll know whether a damages claim may be worth exploring.
When legal advice changes the picture
Whether legal help is worth it depends on which kind of compensation you're pursuing and whether anything is in dispute. Here's a general guide to both sides.
Often worth talking to a lawyer
- Your injury may be more than threshold and another driver was at fault
- Your injuries may be above the 10% impairment line
- An offer to settle has come from the insurer
- Fault is disputed or shared
You may not need one
- You were mostly at fault and don't dispute it
- Your injury is a threshold injury and you agree with that
- The insurer is approving your treatment
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 Rodd Point
- 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 Rodd Point
- 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 Rodd Point
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.
- Payslips from before the accident
- Business records if you're self-employed
- Evidence of a recent pay rise or promotion
- Letters from your employer about your role
Read next:CTP weekly payments
Weekly payments while a damages claim is pending
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
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
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.
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
Not for NSW CTP claims. Compensation depends on facts a calculator can't assess, such as whether your injury is more than threshold, your whole person impairment, your share of fault and your earnings history. Many of those aren't known until well into a claim. Treat any online figure with caution, and focus instead on the questions that decide your entitlements.
No one can tell you that without knowing your facts, and we don't publish figures. Compensation depends on your injuries, your pre-accident earnings, whether someone else was at fault, whether your injury is more than a threshold injury, your whole person impairment and your accident date. Most people receive statutory benefits. Some can also claim damages. A free claim check helps you understand which applies to you.
Get advice before you accept any offer. A settlement generally ends your damages claim for good, so it needs to reflect your lost earnings and, where relevant, pain and suffering, based on reliable medical evidence. An independent CTP lawyer can check whether the offer takes account of your future. There's no obligation to accept an offer simply because it has been made.
Generally 3 years from the accident. A later damages claim may be allowed only with a full and satisfactory explanation, so don't count on it. The earlier marker matters too: lodge within 2 years if you want weekly payments to continue past 2 years while the claim is pending. Statutory benefits run to much shorter deadlines of their own, so make sure that claim is in first.
They can. The usual end point is 104 weeks, but a common law damages claim you've lodged that is still pending can extend them: to as long as 156 weeks where whole person impairment is 10% or less, or 260 weeks where it's more than 10%. The extension only works if the damages claim went in within 2 years of the accident, so the timing of your claim matters.
A damages claim generally cannot be settled within 2 years of the accident unless your whole person impairment is more than 10%. Beyond that point, the timing turns on how your recovery goes, what the medical evidence shows and how negotiations with the insurer progress. Be cautious of anyone suggesting an early result is possible without those conditions. Take your time, and get advice before you accept any offer.
Car accident compensation: suburbs near Rodd Point
Related reading
- How much compensation?
- CTP claims for self-employed and gig workers
- Whole person impairment
- Motor accident compensation: how it works
- Chronic Pain After a Car Accident
- Back Injury
- Disc Bulge After a Car Accident
- Pre-Existing Condition Aggravation
- Fatality and Dependency Claims
- Inner West: area guide
- CTP Lawyer Help in Sydney
Ready to talk it through?
Get a free, no-obligation claim check. It's the first step toward understanding where your claim stands and what help it needs.
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.