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 the evidence, and, if a damages claim is open to you, ends in settlement or assessment. We're not a law firm. For people in the Sydney CBD, we explain the path and can introduce you to an independent solicitor if it would help.
Sydney CBD & inner city · How a car accident solicitor runs a claim
From review to settlement: a CTP solicitor for the Sydney CBD
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Your CTP file and where you live: Sydney CBD
City crashes on the Eastern Distributor or Parramatta Road can involve taxis, buses and delivery vans with their own cameras. A solicitor reviewing the file checks early whether that footage was ever requested. Living in the City of Sydney 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. From the Sydney CBD, each stage of a CTP file, from the first review to settlement, can generally be handled by phone, email and online.
- Region
- Sydney CBD & inner city
- Postcode
- 2000
- Local government area
- City of Sydney
- Main roads
- George Street · Pitt Street
Dates, decisions and deadlines: the file review
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.
How a damages file usually settles
Settlement talks often come to a head at a conference, in person or online, where the insurer and your solicitor try to close the gap. You'll usually be asked to attend or stay by the phone. The solicitor will go through the evidence with you beforehand and talk about what a reasonable result could look like. The final say on any figure is yours.
Read next:CTP settlements
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.
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
- Your impairment may be more than 10% and that could change the timing
- An offer has arrived and you don't know how to weigh it
- The insurer wants you to sign a release or deed
You may not need one
- You're still in the first weeks and nothing has been decided yet
- You only need help with a single benefit decision
- Your injuries are healing and no damages claim is likely
Ask for a written costs disclosure before a solicitor starts work on your file. Costs for damages claims have a regulated maximum, and the disclosure should show how yours will be calculated. What a CTP lawyer costs
Not quite your situation?
- If your main question is who caused the crash and what a fault finding means, the car accident lawyer page covers it. Car accident lawyer in the Sydney CBD
- 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 the Sydney CBD
- 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 the Sydney CBD
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Talk through your CTP file
From anywhere in NSW, by phone or online. The claim check is free, and whether you go further is up to you.
How a CTP file runs: six stages
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
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
Evidence and impairment
The evidence builds over time: records of your injuries, proof of earnings and, where needed, independent reports written for the claim. Impairment is usually assessed only once your condition has settled, so this stage can't be rushed.
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.
Claims assessment at the Personal Injury Commission
If the insurer and the solicitor can't agree, the damages claim can generally go to claims assessment at the Personal Injury Commission, the independent tribunal that has handled CTP disputes since 1 March 2021. An assessor considers the evidence and submissions from both sides and assesses the damages. The solicitor prepares the application and the material the assessor will rely on.
Read next:The Personal Injury Commission
Lodging the damages claim
A damages claim is separate from the statutory benefits claim. It can generally be made only if another driver was at fault, you weren't mostly at fault and your injury is more than a threshold injury. It generally can't be made before 20 months after the accident unless whole person impairment is more than 10%, and must generally be made within 3 years.
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
Reports, examinations and impairment
Your role in this stage is steady: keep the solicitor told about ongoing symptoms and any change in what you can do at work. The solicitor's role is to decide when the evidence is complete enough to act on. That may involve independent reports and, where impairment could exceed 10%, an assessment that can change when the damages claim is lodged.
Read next:Whole person impairment explained
Taking over a claim you started yourself
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
Frequently asked questions
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 expert for the claim itself. 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 separate from the records made since the crash, which remain important. Ask your solicitor who is being asked for a report and why.
Insurers commonly ask claimants to attend an independent medical examination, and refusing without a good reason can hold up your claim. Tell your solicitor as soon as you're asked. They can check the arrangements and tell you what to expect. At the examination, be accurate and consistent about your symptoms, neither understating nor overstating them. Afterwards, note how long it lasted and what you were asked.
It's the usual way a CTP damages claim is decided if it doesn't settle. The Personal Injury Commission, an independent tribunal that has handled CTP disputes since 1 March 2021, appoints an assessor to consider the evidence from both sides and assess the damages. Your solicitor prepares the application and the supporting material. The process is generally less formal than court, and what follows an assessment depends on the circumstances.
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 the evidence can slow things down. Your solicitor can give a rough estimate for your file.
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.
Car accident solicitor: suburbs near the Sydney CBD
Related reading
- CTP lump sum and damages claims
- CTP settlement: what to expect
- CTP claim timeline in NSW
- Independent medical examinations
- Neck Injury
- Lower Back Pain After a Car Accident
- Headaches After a Car Accident
- Pre-Existing Condition Aggravation
- CTP claims for drivers
- Sydney CBD & inner city: area guide
- Car Accident Lawyer Help in Sydney
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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.