Compensation for a serious injury isn't a single figure you can look up. It depends on the injury, its lasting effects, your earnings and who was at fault, all measured under the scheme's rules. People in Queens Park can use this page to understand those rules, then get a free claim check. Many claims run without a lawyer; serious ones often benefit from one.
Eastern Suburbs · Serious injury compensation
Injury compensation lawyer help for people in Queens Park
The threshold line and whole person impairment, explained without promises.
Postcode: 2022
- Free claim check, no obligation
- By phone & online, no office to visit
- Helping people in Queens Park & Charing Cross
Treatment and evidence close to Queens Park
If a serious injury means regular follow-up, the Eastern Suburbs Line, light rail and buses can get you there. Keep a list of each specialist you see and what they found. If you were admitted to Prince of Wales Hospital after the crash, the admission notes, scans and specialist letters made there are often the first evidence of how serious the injury is. Ask for copies, or ask your GP to obtain them. Scans and surgery may mean travel, but claim help doesn't have to. Queens Park is about 5 km from the Sydney CBD, and the claim check runs by phone and online. Many lawyers work with seriously injured people the same way.
For people in the Waverley Council area, as anywhere in NSW, the test for a serious injury comes from the scheme's rules and your medical evidence, not from where you happen to live.
- Region
- Eastern Suburbs
- Postcode
- 2022
- Nearest public hospital
- Prince of Wales Hospital
- From the Sydney CBD
- ~5 km
- Local government area
- Waverley Council
Threshold injury, or something more serious?
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
- Nerve damage confirmed by a doctor
- 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.
When an injury counts as serious
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
People are often surprised by how technical WPI is. It is assessed under guidelines that rate specific impairments, such as lost movement in a joint, and express the result as a whole-body percentage. More than 10% is the key line in CTP claims, because damages for non-economic loss, meaning pain and suffering, are only available above it. Loss of earnings doesn't need that level.
Because so much can turn on a few percentage points, WPI assessments are often contested. Your treating doctors, the insurer's chosen doctor and, if there's a dispute, 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
When whole person impairment is measured
There's usually no single moment when WPI is measured. Opinions may come from treating doctors, from doctors the insurer arranges, and, where the two sides disagree, from a medical assessment through the Personal Injury Commission. Timing matters, because injuries can improve or worsen for months. A lawyer can advise whether an assessment is premature before you rely on it.
- Whether the injury has stabilised
- Scans or tests your doctors have ordered
- Changes in your condition since the last report
Read next:Insurer medical examinations
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
- Another driver was at fault and a damages claim may be possible
- An impairment assessment is coming up, or you disagree with one
- Your injury has worsened since it was last assessed
- You have a fracture, a tear, nerve damage or a brain injury
You may not need one
- The injury has settled with no lasting effect on your work or daily life
- Your injury is healing as expected and should resolve fully
- You were mostly at fault, so no damages claim is open to you
Serious injuries need coordinated care. Ask us about doctors and allied health who understand CTP claims, from the Certificate of Fitness to ongoing rehabilitation and psychology.
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
- If you want to know what compensation can include and when it is paid, the car accident compensation page sets out the whole package. Car accident compensation in Queens Park
- Before any of this, if the real question is which scheme or kind of claim covers your injury, the compensation lawyer page is the place to begin. Compensation lawyer in Queens 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 Queens Park
When the injury isn't only physical
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, the opinion of a treating psychiatrist or psychologist can matter a great deal.
Read next:Psychological injury after a crash
What makes an injury more than threshold
The definition works by exclusion. An injury is generally threshold if it is soft tissue damage with no nerve damage and no torn tendon, ligament, meniscus or cartilage, whether the tear is complete or not, or if it is a psychological injury the scheme classes as threshold. Injuries outside that description, such as fractures, torn ligaments or brain injuries, are generally more than threshold.
Which side you're on matters. For accidents from 1 April 2023, statutory benefits for a threshold injury generally last up to 52 weeks. For accidents between 1 December 2017 and 31 March 2023, the limit was 26 weeks. If your injury is more than threshold and you weren't mostly at fault, benefits can generally continue for longer, and a damages claim may be possible.
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
Long-term earning capacity
Weekly payments cover lost income for a limited time. For a serious injury, the bigger question is the future: will you be able to return to your old job, at the same hours and pay? If not, a damages claim may include past and future economic loss, provided the conditions for damages are met. That part of a claim doesn't depend on WPI above 10%.
Read next:Statutory benefits vs damages
What shows an injury is serious
Because serious injuries take time to show their full effect, evidence builds in layers. Early records show the injury happened and how bad it was. Later reports show how it has settled and what it has left behind. An independent lawyer can help spot gaps, but the underlying evidence comes from your treatment. Getting good care is also how good evidence is made.
- Imaging reports, such as X-ray, CT or MRI, where done
- Every Certificate of Fitness, in order
- Records of how the injury affects your work
- Any impairment assessment, and your response to it
Read next:Gathering medical evidence
Free claim check
Not sure how serious your claim is?
Call (02) 7238 7379 or request a callback. We'll go through your diagnosis, your dates and any assessment deadlines with you.
Frequently asked questions
It can. The insurer's decision is based on the evidence it has at the time. If a new diagnosis comes to light, such as nerve damage or a tear, the insurer can be asked to look at the classification again. If you disagree with a decision, there's a formal process to challenge it, starting with an internal review, and the CTP claim denied page explains those steps and their deadlines.
More than one person may. Your treating doctors can give opinions, the insurer may send you to a doctor it chooses, and where you and the insurer disagree about the degree of impairment, a medical assessor at the Personal Injury Commission can decide it. Timing matters as much as who: an assessment made before the injury has settled can understate it. To challenge an assessment, see the CTP claim denied page, and act quickly because the deadlines are short.
Tell your doctor about the change, get it recorded, and make sure the insurer receives the new evidence. An earlier assessment may no longer reflect your condition, and in some circumstances the injury may be looked at again. Whether and how that happens depends on the stage of your claim and the rules for your situation, so this is a good point to get advice.
Not always. Whether scans are needed is a medical decision, and many injuries are diagnosed by examination. Where your doctor recommends imaging, it can show things an examination can't, such as a fracture, a tear or signs of nerve compression, and that can affect how the injury is classified. Keep copies of every imaging report, and don't arrange scans just for the claim.
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.
Usually, yes, because most whiplash is soft tissue injury to the neck. But not always. If a doctor finds nerve damage, or a full or partial tear of a tendon or ligament, the injury may be more than threshold. Symptoms like arm pain, numbness or weakness are worth describing to your doctor. The insurer decides on the medical evidence, and its decision can be reviewed.
Injury compensation lawyer: suburbs near Queens Park
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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.