One way to understand a car accident claim is to follow the file. It opens with a review of dates and decisions, moves through statutory benefits and medical evidence, and, if a damages claim is open to you, ends in settlement or assessment. We're not a law firm. For people in Kelso, we explain the path and can introduce you to an independent solicitor if it would help.
Central West, Orana & Far West · How a car accident solicitor runs a claim
Car accident solicitor help for people in Kelso
A damages file generally takes years, not weeks. Here's why, and what happens at each stage.
Postcode: 2795
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Running a claim from Kelso: the practical side
Orange Health Service, Bathurst Base Hospital, Dubbo Base Hospital and Broken Hill Base Hospital treat many Central West injuries. Their records are among the first a solicitor requests. If your crash happened on a local road in the Bathurst Regional Council area, the police event number and any nearby camera footage may become part of the file. A solicitor usually checks early whether those records exist and are being kept. Crashes on busy routes like the Great Western Highway and Sydney Road often involve several vehicles. A solicitor reviewing the file checks which insurer accepted the claim and whether liability for damages has been admitted, denied or not yet decided.
- Region
- Central West, Orana & Far West
- Postcode
- 2795
- Local government area
- Bathurst Regional Council
- Main roads
- Great Western Highway · Sydney Road
- Nearest public hospital
- Bathurst Base Hospital
Taking on the file: what the solicitor checks first
When a solicitor takes on a car accident claim, the first job is a review of what has already happened. That means the accident date, which sets the rules that apply; the date the claim was lodged; each decision the insurer has made; and any deadline already running, such as the 28 days to seek internal review of a decision. Nothing else is planned until those dates are clear.
Claims assessment at the Personal Injury Commission
Claims assessment is the usual path when a damages claim won't settle. The Personal Injury Commission appoints an assessor, who may hold a conference or hearing that is often less formal than a court. Your solicitor presents your evidence and may ask you to give an account. What an assessment means for the claim, and what can follow it, depends on the circumstances.
Read next:The Personal Injury Commission
The statutory benefits stage
For the first part of a CTP file, the claim is about statutory benefits: weekly payments if you can't work, and treatment and care that is reasonable and necessary. Much of this runs directly between you and your case manager. The solicitor's role is to watch the insurer's decisions and step in where one affects your entitlements or your later damages claim.
Medical evidence and impairment on the file
As your injuries settle, the medical side of the file takes shape. Your treating doctors' records come first. Reports written for the claim itself, by independent specialists the solicitor instructs, may follow, and the insurer can ask you to see a doctor of its choosing. If your whole person impairment could be more than 10%, it will be assessed once your condition has stabilised, which affects both timing and what can be claimed.
Lodging the damages claim
Preparing the damages claim means pulling the file together: an account of the crash, the medical evidence, and proof of what the injury has cost you in earnings, past and future. Payslips, tax returns and business records matter here. The solicitor assembles them so the claim sets out the losses clearly from the start, which helps later negotiation.
After the damages claim goes in, there can be long stretches with little visible progress while evidence is exchanged. The insurer may request further information or arrange another medical examination. Keep the solicitor told of any change in your work, treatment or symptoms, and answer requests promptly, because an up-to-date file is easier to resolve.
Read next:CTP damages claims
Offers, conferences and settling the file
Damages claims are most often resolved by negotiation. The insurer and the solicitor exchange evidence and offers, sometimes at a settlement conference with you present or available. You'll hear what each offer means against the evidence, and what going further could risk. You decide whether to accept. If an offer seems low, the solicitor can generally answer it with further evidence rather than a flat refusal.
Read next:CTP settlements
Bringing a solicitor into a claim that's already running
Many people lodge a CTP claim themselves and only look for a solicitor later, often after a decision goes against them or when a damages claim comes into view. That's common and generally not a problem. The solicitor notifies the insurer, obtains your claim file and reviews what has happened so far. The time limits keep running throughout, so earlier is better than later.
Read next:Free claim check
Six stages of a solicitor-run CTP claim
Every CTP file is different, but most follow the same order. Here are the six stages a solicitor generally works through, with the timing rules that apply. Some files end early, for example when no damages claim is open.
At the start
File review and costs disclosure
The solicitor reviews your accident date, when the claim was lodged, every insurer decision and any deadline already running. Before substantial work begins, you'd generally expect written information explaining how fees are worked out.
The first months
The statutory benefits stage
While you recover, weekly payments and treatment come through statutory benefits. The solicitor watches the insurer's decisions, such as whether your injury is treated as a threshold injury, and helps you challenge ones that seem wrong within the review time limits.
As injuries settle
Medical evidence and impairment
Once your injuries have stabilised, the solicitor may arrange medico-legal reports from independent doctors, and the insurer may ask you to attend its own examination. Whole person impairment may be assessed, which matters if it could be more than 10%.
From 20 months
The damages claim is lodged
A damages claim generally can't be made before 20 months after the accident, unless whole person impairment is more than 10%. It must generally be made within 3 years, and within 2 years if you want weekly payments to continue beyond 2 years.
After lodgement
Negotiation with the insurer
The insurer considers the damages claim and may accept or dispute parts of it. The solicitor exchanges evidence and offers with the insurer, and may take part in a settlement conference. You decide whether to accept any offer.
Resolution
Settlement, or assessment at the PIC
A damages claim generally can't settle within 2 years of the accident unless impairment is more than 10%. If negotiation doesn't produce an agreement, the Personal Injury Commission can assess the claim, and some claims go to court instead.
General information, not legal advice. Every file is different, and the timing rules depend on your accident date. Time limits apply.
Handing your file to a car accident solicitor: when it helps
These points show when handing the file to a solicitor usually helps, and when you may be fine running it yourself. If you're unsure where yours sits, the free claim check can tell you.
Often worth talking to a lawyer
- The insurer wants you to sign a release or deed
- Your earnings are irregular and proving lost income will take work
- You started the claim yourself and it has become complicated
- A threshold decision could close off the damages stage
You may not need one
- Statutory benefits are being paid and nothing has been disputed
- What you need most right now is medical care, not a file review
- Your injury has been accepted as a threshold injury and you agree with it
Consistent treatment makes for a clearer file. Ask us about doctors and allied health, such as GPs, physiotherapists and psychologists, who understand CTP claims and complete the Certificate of Fitness.
Not quite your situation?
- If fault is still being argued, the car accident lawyer page explains how it's decided and why it matters to your claim. Car accident lawyer in Kelso
- If you haven't decided whether you need a lawyer at all, the CTP lawyer page helps you weigh it up first. CTP lawyer in Kelso
- If you want to understand how impairment is assessed and what a serious injury means for your claim, see the injury compensation lawyer page. Injury compensation lawyer in Kelso
Free claim check
Solicitor questions near Kelso? Free check
Let us know what stage your claim has reached. We'll explain the next one and connect you with an independent solicitor if your file needs one.
Frequently asked questions
In order: reviews the dates, decisions and deadlines already on your claim; watches the statutory benefits stage and challenges decisions that seem wrong; builds the medical evidence as your injuries settle; times and lodges the damages claim; negotiates with the insurer; and resolves the claim by settlement or claims assessment. Throughout, the solicitor tracks the time limits and explains each decision, while you keep up treatment and give instructions.
It depends on your injuries and the timing rules. As a general rule, not before 20 months after the accident unless whole person impairment is assessed as more than 10%, and generally no later than 3 years after it. Many solicitors aim to lodge within 2 years, because that keeps weekly payments available beyond the 2-year point while the claim is pending. The right moment balances those limits against how settled your injuries are.
The file shifts to proving the points the insurer disputes. That may be who caused the crash, whether you were mostly at fault, or whether your injury is more than a threshold injury. The solicitor gathers evidence on each point and responds to the insurer. If the dispute can't be resolved by negotiation, it may go to the Personal Injury Commission. Statutory benefits you're already receiving are a separate question and may continue meanwhile.
Usually years rather than months. The timing rules set the pace: a damages claim generally can't be lodged before 20 months unless impairment is more than 10%, and generally can't settle within 2 years of the accident on the same condition. After lodgement, negotiation and any claims assessment add further time. Files with serious injuries can move earlier, while disputes over liability or medical evidence can slow things down. Your solicitor can give a rough estimate for your file.
Early on, everything you already have: the claim number, the insurer's letters and decisions, Certificates of Fitness and any statements. During the benefits stage, updates on treatment, work and symptoms. Before the damages claim, proof of earnings such as payslips, tax returns or business records. Near settlement, your instructions on offers. Throughout, prompt replies and honest updates, including about anything that has improved.
You may. A medico-legal report is written by an independent doctor for the claim itself, not for treatment. Your solicitor may arrange one or more, often once your injuries have stabilised, to give an opinion on your injuries, their cause and your capacity to work. They're different from your treating doctors' records, which remain important. Ask your solicitor who is being asked for a report and why.
Car accident solicitor: suburbs near Kelso
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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.