Lower North Shore & Ryde · Car accident compensation

Understanding car accident compensation in St Leonards

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

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 St Leonards 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: 2065

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Your work, your injury and your claim in St Leonards

If your commute runs on the Metro to Macquarie Park or on buses along Military Road and the crash has kept you home, lost earnings are worked out from your own records, including any recent rise in pay. Coming under Lane Cove Council, North Sydney Council and Willoughby City Council has no bearing on compensation. Someone in St Leonards 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. If Royal North Shore Hospital admitted you, the dates of your stay and the time off work that followed are part of your earnings picture. Keep the discharge letter with your payslips, because lost income is assessed from both.

From St Leonards, the Sydney CBD is around 5 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
Lower North Shore & Ryde
Postcode
2065
Local government area
Lane Cove Council, North Sydney Council and Willoughby City Council
Nearest public hospital
Royal North Shore Hospital
From the Sydney CBD
~5 km

Two kinds of compensation

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

Compensation for income you've lost

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
  • Your Certificates of Fitness
  • Records of any income since the accident

Read next:CTP weekly payments

When a damages claim can be made and settled

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?

Benefits and damages, side by side

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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Compensation claims: lawyer or not?

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

  • The 2-year mark is close and no damages claim has been lodged
  • An offer to settle has come from the insurer
  • Your pre-accident earnings seem to have been set too low
  • The insurer disputes how serious your injury is

You may not need one

  • You only need to understand how weekly payments are calculated
  • The insurer is approving your treatment
  • You've recovered and are back at your usual work

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 St Leonards
  • 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 St Leonards
  • If you only need the basics of weekly payments and how to lodge, the CTP claims page for St Leonards sets out the steps. CTP claims in St Leonards

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

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

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.

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.

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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