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 Thurgoona 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.
Riverina & Murray · Serious injury compensation
Injury compensation lawyer Thurgoona: threshold and beyond
How serious injuries are measured in a CTP claim, and what those measurements change.
Postcode: 2640
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Serious injury care and records near Thurgoona
Across the Murray, Victoria runs its own scheme with its own tests for serious injuries. If the crash happened on the Victorian side, different rules generally apply to your claim. If you were admitted to Albury 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. If scans, specialist reviews or surgery mean trips to Albury, about 6 km away, keep a note of each trip and what it cost. Where you live needn't hold your claim back: advice and the claim check both work by phone and online, from home.
Whether you live in the Albury City Council area or elsewhere, the scheme measures a serious injury the same way. The local part is your treating team, and the record they keep of your injury over time.
- Region
- Riverina & Murray
- Postcode
- 2640
- Nearest public hospital
- Albury Hospital
- Distance to Albury
- ~6 km
- Local government area
- Albury City Council
Serious injury: when legal advice helps
Serious injuries are where legal advice most often earns its place, because the stakes and the rules are both higher. Even so, not every serious injury claim needs a lawyer at every stage. Here is a general guide.
Often worth talking to a lawyer
- A pre-existing condition is being blamed for your symptoms
- The insurer has classed your injury as threshold and your doctors disagree
- Another driver was at fault and a damages claim may be possible
- An impairment assessment is coming up, or you disagree with one
You may not need one
- You want general scheme information that CTP Assist can give
- You were mostly at fault, so no damages claim is open to you
- The insurer accepts the injury is more than threshold and benefits are flowing
If you're not sure your injury has been fully investigated, a doctor experienced with CTP can help. We can suggest doctors and allied health familiar with the Certificate of Fitness and serious injury care.
Not quite your situation?
- Hurt at work, or in a crash while you were working? That is usually a workers compensation claim first, which is a different scheme from CTP. Tell us what happened and 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 Thurgoona
- 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 Thurgoona
- To dispute a threshold decision the insurer has made, see the CTP claim denied page for the review process and its deadlines. CTP claim denied in Thurgoona
Which side of the threshold line your injury may fall
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.
What 'serious' means in claim terms
Most people never need to think about impairment percentages. If your injury is serious, you probably will. The scheme's rules divide injuries by type first, threshold or not, and then, for some entitlements, by the degree of lasting impairment. This page explains both in general terms. Your own claim depends on your diagnosis and on the insurer's decisions, which can be reviewed.
Read next:Threshold vs non-threshold injury
The timing of an impairment assessment
In a serious injury claim, impairment often comes into focus well after the crash, once treatment has run its course. 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 your medical records are
- Scans or tests your doctors have ordered
Read next:Insurer medical examinations
Free claim check
Serious injury? Talk to us before the next decision
An injury that's worse than first thought can change your claim. A short, free conversation can show you what to ask next.
When the injury isn't only physical
A crash can cause psychological injury as well as physical injury, and sometimes instead of it. Some psychological injuries are classed as threshold injuries; others are not, depending on the diagnosis. Anxiety, low mood, flashbacks or fear of driving are worth raising with your GP early, both for your own sake and so the injury is recorded and properly diagnosed.
Read next:Psychological injury after a crash
Whole person impairment, explained
Whole person impairment, or WPI, is a percentage that describes how much a lasting injury affects the body as a whole. It isn't a measure of pain, and it isn't a measure of what you've lost. It's a medical assessment made under set guidelines once an injury has stabilised. In a CTP claim, WPI matters mainly for damages: non-economic loss is only available where WPI is more than 10%.
It's easy to overstate the 10% line. You don't need more than 10% WPI to claim damages for past and future loss of earnings; you need an injury that's more than threshold, another driver at fault, and not to have been mostly at fault yourself. The 10% line decides pain and suffering, and it also affects some timing rules for a damages claim.
Read next:Can I claim damages? Quick check
What makes an injury more than threshold
From 1 April 2023, the scheme uses the term threshold injury, which replaced the old term minor injury. A threshold injury is generally a soft tissue injury, a threshold psychological injury, or both. Soft tissue here means muscles, tendons, ligaments and similar tissue. Nerve damage is excluded, and so is a full or partial tear of a tendon, ligament, meniscus or cartilage.
Getting the classification right early helps. If you have symptoms that could point to nerve involvement or a tear, such as numbness, weakness, locking or a joint giving way, describe them to your doctor. Whether tests are needed is a medical decision. If a diagnosis changes, make sure the insurer has the new evidence, because the classification may need to change with it.
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
The most persuasive serious injury claims usually have consistent evidence: the same injuries described the same way, from the hospital to the GP to specialists, with no unexplained gaps in treatment. That consistency comes from telling each doctor the full story and following treatment plans. If a report leaves something out, ask the doctor about it rather than letting it pass.
- Hospital admission and discharge records
- Imaging reports, such as X-ray, CT or MRI, where done
- Operation and specialist reports
- Any impairment assessment, and your response to it
Read next:Gathering medical evidence
Frequently asked questions
Possibly. A soft tissue injury with nerve damage, or with a full or partial tear of a tendon, ligament, meniscus or cartilage, is generally not a threshold injury. If yours is more than threshold, another driver was at fault and you weren't mostly at fault, you may be able to claim damages, including loss of earnings. Pain and suffering needs WPI of more than 10%.
Tell every doctor about it, 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, and ask your GP whether further review is needed.
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. Tell your doctors about the earlier condition rather than leaving it out.
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.
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.
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 Thurgoona
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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.