Macarthur & Wollondilly · Car accident compensation

What car accident compensation covers in Wedderburn

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

Compensation in a NSW CTP claim depends on your injury, your earnings, who was at fault and your accident date, not on your postcode. If you live in Wedderburn and want to understand what you might be entitled to, start with the two kinds of compensation below, then use our free claim check to see which applies and whether legal advice would help.

Postcode: 2560

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  • Helping people in Wedderburn & St Helens Park

Two kinds of compensation

It's easier to ask what each part pays for. Statutory benefits pay for time off work and for treatment and care, from early in the claim, and most people get them whoever was at fault. Damages pay for the longer-term cost of the injury: earnings you've lost or will lose and, where impairment is above the 10% line, pain and suffering. The two sit side by side rather than one replacing the other.

Read next:Statutory benefits vs damages

When pain and suffering can be claimed

Where your injury sits against the 10% line is often unclear early on, and it isn't something to guess. Some injuries are plainly above it and many are below it. How and when impairment is assessed is a subject of its own; for compensation, what matters is that pain and suffering damages depend on the line, while lost-earnings damages don't.

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.

Compensation for people in Wedderburn

If you were hurt on Picton Road or Appin Road and the injury will affect your work for years, future economic loss looks at what you would likely have earned without the crash, not only what you've lost so far. Whether your council is Campbelltown City Council or another one in NSW, the CTP rules on weekly payments and damages are the same. What moves the amount is your injury and your earnings, not your address. Understanding your compensation options doesn't require a trip to Campbelltown. From Wedderburn, 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
Macarthur & Wollondilly
Postcode
2560
Local government area
Campbelltown City Council
Distance to Campbelltown
~7 km

Statutory benefits vs common law damages

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 weekly payments can run past 2 years

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

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 and care stays with statutory benefits. If you've paid for something yourself, keep the receipt and raise it with the insurer as a statutory benefits question.

When the injury affects your work

If the injury means you can't return to the work you did, or can only work fewer hours, that loss can stretch well into the future. In a damages claim, future economic loss looks at what you would likely have earned if the crash hadn't happened. Evidence matters: payslips, tax returns, employer letters and expert reports about your capacity to work.

  • Business records if you're self-employed
  • Evidence of a recent pay rise or promotion
  • Your Certificates of Fitness
  • Letters from your employer about your role

Read next:CTP weekly payments

When a damages claim can be made and settled

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?

Online estimates and their limits

Instead of a figure, get clarity on the questions that matter. Is your injury more than threshold? Were you mostly at fault? What did you earn before? Could impairment exceed 10%? Our free claim check works through those questions, and where a damages claim is possible, we'll connect you with an independent lawyer.

Read next:Can I claim damages?

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

  • A family member died and dependants may have a claim
  • You may have lost some of your future earning capacity
  • Your pre-accident earnings seem to have been set too low
  • Fault is disputed or shared

You may not need one

  • The insurer's benefit decisions look right to you
  • You were mostly at fault and don't dispute it
  • You're receiving weekly payments and they look right

Before you accept any offer, get it in writing and check what it covers: past and future lost earnings and, where impairment is more than 10%, pain and suffering. Take your time; an offer doesn't have to be answered on the spot. CTP settlements

Not quite your situation?

  • If the real question is how serious your injury is in claim terms, including impairment, the injury compensation page for Wedderburn explains it. Injury compensation lawyer in Wedderburn
  • 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 Wedderburn
  • 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 Wedderburn

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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