A motor vehicle accident lawyer for road users in Caravan Head

You don't need to own a car or hold a licence to claim under the CTP scheme. What you need is an injury caused by a motor vehicle being driven or used. Once that's established, the usual rules apply: most people can claim statutory benefits whoever was at fault, and a damages claim may be possible where another driver was at fault and the injury is more than a threshold injury.

Where you were matters too. Crashes on public roads are the core of the scheme, but a car park open to the public or a driveway can also be covered, depending on how the vehicle was being used. A crash at a racetrack, or on private land with an unregistered vehicle, usually isn't. When the setting is unusual, get it checked before assuming either way.

A passenger thrown forward when a bus braked hard, or hurt when a taxi was hit side-on, has a motor accident claim in most cases. Write down the route or cab number, the time, and whether you were seated or holding a rail. Screenshot the rideshare trip if there was one. These records show you were on board and help identify the right insurer.

If you were delivering when a vehicle hit you, the order of claims matters. Where you were working as an employee, workers compensation generally comes first and CTP benefits aren't usually paid on top, though a damages claim against the driver's CTP insurer may remain. If you're a contractor, CTP may be the main path. Any platform cover sits alongside these, on its own terms.

A rider hit by a car or truck makes the same kind of claim a driver would, against the insurer of the vehicle at fault. A rider who came down alone isn't shut out either: the bike's own Green Slip may pay statutory benefits. For a rider found wholly or mostly at fault, those generally run for the first 52 weeks only, with no damages claim, which is still far from nothing.

Riding pillion puts you in much the same position as a car passenger. You weren't steering, braking or choosing the line, so the fault question is mostly about the riders and drivers involved. Your claim goes to the insurer of whichever vehicle caused the crash, which may be the bike you were on. It is made against the insurer, never the rider personally.

Electric bikes are generally treated like pedal bikes for this purpose, so if a motor vehicle hit you on one, you claim against that vehicle's insurer. E-scooters are less settled. A car that hit you on a scooter still carries a Green Slip, but expect questions about where you were riding and the type of device. Check before accepting a refusal.

E-scooters raise a question of their own. A scooter isn't covered by CTP insurance itself, so if a scooter rider knocked you down on a footpath, a CTP claim is unlikely and another path may apply. If a car hit you while you were on a scooter, a claim against the car's insurer may still be possible. Have the specific facts checked.

When a truck is to blame, the injury claim is made to that truck's CTP insurer. Nothing about the scheme or its time limits changes because the vehicle was a heavy one. What can differ is the evidence. Many trucks carry forward-facing cameras, some record location and speed, and heavy-vehicle drivers may keep work diaries. None of it will necessarily exist, and it may not be kept for long.

If you think a truck's camera, its telematics or the driver's work diary would help show what happened, raise it early. Police may obtain some records during an investigation, and the insurer may request others. A lawyer can formally ask the operator to keep records, which matters because some are overwritten or discarded after a while.

Not every pedestrian injury happens on a street. Shopping centre, station and hospital car parks are open to the public, and a person hit there by a car that is reversing or turning can usually claim. A vehicle rolling down a home driveway can also be a motor accident, sometimes involving a child and a family car. The details matter, so check before assuming you can't claim.

When a driver says you stepped out suddenly, video from a shop, a bus or a council camera may show otherwise. Ask the owner in writing to keep it, giving the date, time and exact spot. Do it quickly, or have someone do it for you while you recover, because many systems record over within days.

For crashes involving trucks, buses and rideshare cars, the operator may hold records you don't: onboard cameras, telematics, trip logs and driver hours. They aren't kept forever. Note the company, the route or fleet number and the time, and ask early. For passengers, a trip receipt or card record shows you were on board.

• Helmet, handlebar or dashcam footage, saved as the original file
• Photos of the crossing, lane markings or bike lane
• Your damaged helmet and gear, kept unrepaired
• A screenshot of the rideshare or delivery trip