Serious injuries usually mean long claims, with evidence gathered over months. It helps to understand the terms early: threshold injury, whole person impairment, non-economic loss. This page covers them in plain language for people in Edensor Park. It won't tell you what your claim is worth, because no honest page can. It will help you ask the right questions.
Liverpool & Fairfield · Serious injury compensation
Injury compensation lawyer Edensor Park
How serious injuries are measured in a CTP claim, and what those measurements change.
Postcode: 2176
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- By phone & online, no office to visit
- Helping people in Edensor Park & Bonnyrigg Heights
Evidence and advice close to Edensor Park
After a crash on the Hume Highway or Elizabeth Drive, an injury can look like a strain at first and prove to be a tear or nerve damage later. If the diagnosis changes, make sure the insurer has the new evidence. If you used to commute from bus stops for Fairfield, Cabramatta and Liverpool and a serious injury has stopped that, the change matters to your claim. Lost earning capacity looks at the work you could do before the crash and what you can manage now. A serious injury can make every trip to Liverpool a major effort. Claim help can stay at home, where the check is done by phone and online and documents can generally be signed without travelling.
Living in the Fairfield City Council area doesn't change the rules on serious injuries: the threshold line and whole person impairment work the same way across NSW. What differs from person to person is the evidence.
- Region
- Liverpool & Fairfield
- Postcode
- 2176
- Getting around
- bus services to Fairfield, Cabramatta and Liverpool
- Distance to Liverpool
- ~6 km
- Local government area
- Fairfield City Council
Does a serious injury need a lawyer?
The more serious and lasting the injury, the more likely the claim will involve impairment assessments, damages and long timeframes. Those are the areas where a lawyer tends to help. These lists are a rough guide.
Often worth talking to a lawyer
- You're wondering whether your impairment could be more than 10%
- You have a psychological injury as well as a physical one
- Your injury has worsened since it was last assessed
- A pre-existing condition is being blamed for your symptoms
You may not need one
- Your injury is healing as expected and should resolve fully
- The insurer accepts the injury is more than threshold and benefits are flowing
- Your question is about day-to-day payments, not compensation
If the insurer has classed your injury as threshold and you disagree, note the date of the decision. An internal review is generally due within 28 days of receiving it. Threshold injury disputes
Not quite your situation?
- If the injury happened at work, including on the road for work, workers compensation is usually the scheme that applies first, not CTP. After a crash, a CTP damages claim may still be possible. We can point you to the right help. Free claim check
- For what a claim can actually pay for, and the timing rules for damages, see the car accident compensation page. Car accident compensation in Edensor Park
- If the question is still which sort of claim you have at all, start with the compensation lawyer page before going further. Compensation lawyer in Edensor Park
- If the insurer has already decided your injury is threshold and you want to challenge it, the CTP claim denied page sets out the steps. CTP claim denied in Edensor Park
Reading the threshold line
Where an injury falls against the threshold line affects how long statutory benefits can last and whether damages are possible. The comparison below is general. Symptoms alone don't decide it; the medical diagnosis does.
Usually treated as a threshold injury
- Sprains and strains of muscles, tendons or ligaments
- Whiplash-type neck pain with no nerve findings
- Bruising and soft tissue swelling
- A psychological injury the scheme classes as threshold
- Statutory benefits generally up to 52 weeks, for accidents from 1 April 2023
May be more than a threshold injury
- Confirmed nerve damage
- A full or partial tear of a tendon, ligament, meniscus or cartilage
- A fracture, which is generally not a soft tissue injury
- A brain injury, or a diagnosed psychological condition beyond the threshold category
- Damages may be possible if another driver was at fault and you weren't mostly at fault
General information, not legal advice, and not medical advice either. The insurer decides on the medical evidence, its decision can be reviewed, and time limits apply.
What 'serious' means in claim terms
Two measurements do most of the work when an injury is serious. One is the threshold line, which separates soft tissue and some psychological injuries from everything else. The other is whole person impairment, a percentage that describes lasting impairment. Between them, they affect how long statutory benefits can run and what a damages claim, if you have one, can include.
Read next:Threshold vs non-threshold injury
What whole person impairment is
WPI turns a lasting injury into a percentage. An assessor examines you and rates the impairment under the guidelines that apply to motor accident claims. The number doesn't reflect how hard your life has become; it reflects measurable impairment. Even so, it can decide important questions, especially whether damages for pain and suffering are possible.
Because so much can turn on a few percentage points, WPI assessments are often contested. Reports prepared for you, for the insurer and, if there's a dispute, by a medical assessor through the Personal Injury Commission may reach different figures. Keep every report, and get advice before accepting an assessment you think is wrong.
Read next:Can I claim damages? Quick check
Free claim check
Free claim check for a serious injury
An injury that's worse than first thought can change your claim. A short, free conversation can show you what to ask next.
Serious injury and your future earnings
A serious injury can change more than the next few months of work. It can limit the kind of work you can do for years, or permanently. In a damages claim, that is called loss of future earning capacity, and it can be a significant part of a serious injury claim. It generally needs medical evidence, your work history and sometimes vocational experts.
Read next:Statutory benefits vs damages
What makes an injury more than threshold
The threshold line is a legal line drawn around medical facts. The diagnosis describes the injury; the scheme's definition decides which side it falls on. Sprains, strains and whiplash without nerve findings usually sit on the threshold side. Confirmed nerve damage, a tear, a fracture or a brain injury generally takes an injury beyond it. The insurer makes the call, and you can challenge it.
The line also decides whether common law damages are open. With only a threshold injury, they generally aren't. With a more serious injury, you may be able to claim damages if another driver was at fault and you weren't mostly at fault. That is why a threshold decision is often the most important decision the insurer makes about a serious injury.
Check the date of your accident
The threshold rules and benefit periods depend on when your accident happened. Check which rules apply to your date before relying on any general statement.
Read next:Threshold injury disputes
Who assesses impairment, and when
In a serious injury claim, impairment often comes into focus well after the crash, once the injury has stabilised. The Personal Injury Commission handles medical assessment where the insurer and the injured person disagree. If you think an assessment is wrong, the steps to challenge it are set out separately, and the deadlines are short, so act promptly.
- Whether every injured body part is included
- How complete and current the evidence is
- Changes in your condition since the last report
Read next:Insurer medical examinations
Psychological injury and the threshold
The scheme treats psychological injury seriously, but it still sorts it by diagnosis. A threshold psychological injury is generally handled like a threshold physical one. A more serious diagnosed condition may take the claim beyond the threshold. Because the difference turns on the diagnosis, what is on record, and when it was recorded, can matter a great deal.
Read next:Psychological injury after a crash
The evidence a serious injury claim needs
Serious injury claims rest on evidence gathered over time: records made from the day of the crash, reports on the injury as it develops, and later assessments of what it has left behind. Your own records add the human detail. Start collecting early, keep everything in date order, and make sure every injury is on the record, not just the worst one.
- Every insurer decision about the injury, with its date
- Any reports prepared for the claim
- Records of how the injury affects your work
- Any impairment assessment, and your response to it
Read next:CTP damages claims
Frequently asked questions
It's a percentage, often shortened to WPI, given to the lasting impairment an injury leaves. It's usually assessed once the injury has stabilised, and it measures impairment, not pain or lost income. The figure to know is 10%. Above it, damages for pain and suffering become possible and some timing rules for a damages claim change. At 10% or less, lost earnings can still be claimed if the other conditions for damages are met.
Generally, yes, for the worsening the crash caused. A pre-existing condition, like arthritis or an old back injury, doesn't stop a claim, but the insurer may argue that some of your symptoms would have happened anyway. Clear evidence helps: records of how you were before the crash, and how you've been since. Be open about the earlier condition rather than leaving it out.
It compares what you could have earned without the injury with what you can realistically earn now, over the years ahead. Evidence comes from your work history, payslips and tax records, and opinions about the work you can still do, sometimes from vocational experts. It's usually part of a damages claim, so the other conditions for damages need to be met. Keep records of every change to your hours, duties and roles.
Each injury matters. Your claim should list every injury the crash caused, and all of them should be on the record, not just the worst. The threshold limits generally apply where all your injuries are threshold injuries, so one injury that is more than threshold can change the whole claim. How several injuries are rated for impairment is technical, so get advice if it matters to you.
Generally, no. A threshold injury is generally a soft tissue injury, and a broken bone isn't soft tissue. So a fracture caused by the crash will usually take the injury beyond the threshold, although the insurer still decides on the medical evidence. If you have a fracture along with soft tissue injuries, make sure the fracture is clearly recorded on every certificate and report.
Make sure it's on the record, even if it seemed mild at first. A brain injury isn't a soft tissue injury, so a diagnosed brain injury is generally more than threshold. Symptoms such as headaches, memory problems, fatigue or changes in mood can take time to show and are easy to put down to stress. Record them with dates as they appear.
Injury compensation lawyer: suburbs near Edensor Park
Related reading
- Whole person impairment
- When the insurer says threshold injury
- Lump sum and damages claims
- Threshold disputes: a general guide
- Whiplash
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Chronic Pain After a Car Accident
- Sciatica and Nerve Pain
- Pre-Existing Condition Aggravation
- Liverpool & Fairfield: area guide
- CTP 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.