Once a solicitor takes on a car accident claim, the file follows a fairly set path under NSW law. Statutory benefits come first. Medical evidence builds as your injuries settle. A damages claim generally can't be lodged before 20 months unless your impairment is more than 10%, and must generally be made within 3 years. For people in Norwest, we explain each stage and connect you with an independent solicitor when your claim needs one.
The Hills · How a car accident solicitor runs a claim
A CTP solicitor's work on your file, for people in Norwest
Statutory benefits first, damages later: how the two stages fit together on one file.
Postcode: 2153
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Norwest: records, hospitals and the file
Crashes on Old Windsor Road or Showground Road are claimed under the same statewide rules. The solicitor's first task is a review of the dates, decisions and deadlines already on your claim. Living in The Hills Shire Council area doesn't change how a CTP file runs. The scheme is statewide, and the stages, the timing rules and the Personal Injury Commission's role are the same wherever in NSW you live. If you were treated at Westmead Hospital, those records are usually among the first a solicitor obtains, with your authority. Emergency notes show your injuries on the day, which helps when the insurer later assesses them.
- Region
- The Hills
- Postcode
- 2153
- Local government area
- The Hills Shire Council
- Main roads
- Norwest Boulevard · Old Windsor Road
- Nearest public hospital
- Westmead Hospital
Taking on the file: what the solicitor checks first
The file review is less about the crash and more about the paper trail since. The solicitor reads the claim form, the insurer's letters and decisions, your Certificates of Fitness and any statements you've given. The aim is to see where the claim stands, what is still open, and whether any decision needs to be challenged before its time limit passes.
Building the medical side of the file
Your role in the medical stage is steady: keep up treatment, attend reviews, and tell your doctors about every ongoing symptom. The solicitor's role is to decide when the evidence is complete enough to act on. That may involve reports from specialists and, where impairment could exceed 10%, an assessment that can change when the damages claim is lodged.
Negotiation and settlement
When a claim settles, you'll usually sign a release or deed that ends the claim in exchange for the agreed amount. Read it carefully and ask what it covers before you sign, including what happens to any benefits still being paid. A signed settlement is very hard to undo, which is why solicitors generally advise against settling before your injuries have stabilised.
Read next:CTP settlements
If the claim doesn't settle: the PIC
Some claims can go to court rather than, or after, claims assessment, for example where a claim is exempt from assessment or a party is entitled to take it further. This is less common in CTP files and depends on the facts. If it's possible in your case, the solicitor will explain the costs, the risks and the timing before any decision is made.
Read next:The Personal Injury Commission
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.
If you're self-employed or your income varies, proving lost earnings takes more work. Business records, business activity statements and an accountant's reports may all be needed, and gathering them can take time. The solicitor will usually start collecting them well before the damages claim is due, so missing documents don't put the timing rules at risk.
Read next:CTP damages claims
The first stage of the file: benefits while you recover
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.
Already lodged your claim? How a solicitor steps in
Taking over a running claim is mostly about catching up. The solicitor checks whether any decisions can still be reviewed, whether benefits are being paid correctly and when a damages claim can or must be made. Some steps you took yourself may need no change at all. Others, such as a threshold decision you didn't challenge, may need attention quickly if a time limit is still open.
Read next:Free claim check
The file from review to resolution
From the first review to the final settlement or assessment, a damages file usually runs for years rather than months. The six stages below are the general shape of it, in the order they usually come.
At the start
File review and costs disclosure
First comes a review: what happened, which insurer has the claim, what it has decided and which dates matter. You should also be given written information about costs before significant work starts, and you can ask questions about it.
The first months
The statutory benefits stage
Statutory benefits run from early in the claim. For threshold injuries they generally end at 52 weeks, for accidents from 1 April 2023; otherwise weekly payments can generally continue for up to 104 weeks. The solicitor tracks these limits and the decisions that affect them.
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 file ends with a settlement you agree to, a claims assessment at the Personal Injury Commission or, less often, court proceedings. Settling in the first 2 years after the crash generally isn't allowed unless impairment is above 10%.
General information, not legal advice. Every file is different, and the timing rules depend on your accident date. Time limits apply.
Solicitor-run or self-run: which suits your claim?
Many CTP claims never reach the damages stage, and plenty of people manage the statutory benefits side on their own. A solicitor-run file makes more sense once a damages claim is possible or a decision needs challenging.
Often worth talking to a lawyer
- A damages claim is possible and the 2-year and 3-year points are approaching
- The insurer has disputed liability for your damages claim
- You started the claim yourself and it has become complicated
- The insurer wants you to sign a release or deed
You may not need one
- What you need most right now is medical care, not a file review
- Your questions are about lodging, not about damages
- Statutory benefits are being paid and nothing has been disputed
Whatever stage your file is at, treatment continues alongside it. We can put you in touch with doctors and allied health who know how the Certificate of Fitness and CTP claims work.
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 Norwest
- 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 Norwest
- If the big question on your file is how serious your injury is in claim terms, the injury compensation lawyer page explains impairment. Injury compensation lawyer in Norwest
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Talk through your CTP file
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
Usually a release or deed of settlement. In exchange for the agreed amount, it generally ends your damages claim and stops you bringing it again. It may also deal with other matters, such as what happens to any statutory benefits still being paid. Read it carefully and ask your solicitor to explain each part before you sign, because a signed settlement is very hard to undo.
Yes, a solicitor can generally take over a claim at any stage. They'll tell the insurer they're now handling it, obtain the claim file and review what has happened so far, including any decisions that can still be reviewed. Keep dealing with the insurer as usual until the solicitor confirms they've taken over. Bringing someone in earlier leaves more options open, because the time limits keep running either way.
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.
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.
Usually, if they're relevant. Police records can confirm how and when the crash happened, who was involved and whether anyone was charged. The solicitor will generally ask for them where liability is in question or the insurer relies on them. Give the solicitor the police event number if you have it. If police didn't attend, your own report and any witness details become more important.
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.
Car accident solicitor: suburbs near Norwest
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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.