Riders, cyclists and pedestrians often have little between them and the vehicle, so injuries can be serious. That makes the right claim path matter. We're not a law firm. For people around Collaroy, we check whether your crash falls within the CTP scheme, which insurer is involved, and whether an independent lawyer should look at it.
Northern Beaches · Motor vehicle accident claims
A motor vehicle accident lawyer for road users in Collaroy
Riders, pedestrians, cyclists and passengers: whether the NSW motor accident scheme covers what happened to you.
Postcode: 2097
- Free claim check, no obligation
- By phone & online, no office to visit
- Helping people in Collaroy & Collaroy Beach
Usually covered, or check first?
Generally, the CTP scheme covers injuries caused by the use or operation of a registered motor vehicle in NSW. Most crashes involving one are covered, whoever you were. The edge cases are technical, so if yours sits in the right-hand column, ask before ruling anything out.
Usually a CTP (motor accident) claim
- A car, truck, bus or motorbike hit you while you were walking, riding or cycling
- You were a pillion, or a passenger on a bus, in a taxi or in a rideshare car
- Someone opened the door of a parked car into your path
- An unsecured load or a loose trailer caused your crash (generally)
- A driver forced you off the road without touching you (it turns on the evidence)
Often not a CTP claim: check first
- You came off your bicycle and no motor vehicle played any part
- An e-scooter or bicycle rider knocked you down on a footpath
- You were hurt at a track day, race meeting or other closed-circuit event
- A pothole or loose gravel was the only cause of your fall
- A quad bike or unregistered trail bike on private land was involved
General information, not legal advice. Whether an incident is a motor accident depends on the facts. Time limits apply.
Local roads and transport near Collaroy: who gets hurt, and how
Road cyclists ride Pittwater Road, Barrenjoey Road and the routes toward Palm Beach and West Head, often in groups. A rider hit by a car or bus there generally claims against that vehicle's insurer. Around B-Line stops on Pittwater Road, people step on and off buses, cross to platforms and wait for rideshare pick-ups. A person hit on foot there, or hurt getting out of a vehicle, may have a motor accident claim. Around the Long Reef headland, shared paths, driveways and car park entries are where cars most often cross the path of cyclists and walkers. Photograph the layout and any signs, because fault can turn on who should have given way.
Hospitals serving the area include Northern Beaches Hospital and Mona Vale Hospital. Fractures, hip and pelvic injuries and head injuries are common after crashes involving unprotected road users, and each one should be recorded, not only the most obvious.
- Region
- Northern Beaches
- Postcode
- 2097
- Getting around
- B-Line stops on Pittwater Road
- Main roads
- Pittwater Road · Anzac Avenue
- Local landmarks
- Long Reef headland
- Nearest public hospital
- Northern Beaches Hospital
What counts as a motor accident
In NSW, a motor accident is generally an incident involving the use or operation of a motor vehicle that causes an injury. You don't need to have been driving, or even in a vehicle. A pedestrian, a cyclist, a pillion passenger and a bus passenger can all be injured in a motor accident. For accidents from 1 December 2017, the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 sets the rules.
Physical contact isn't always required. A rider who swerves to avoid a car that pulls out, or a pedestrian who falls leaping clear of a vehicle, may still have a claim against that vehicle's insurer. These claims rely heavily on evidence, so witnesses and footage matter even more than usual. If the vehicle didn't stop, a different claim path applies, which the car accident claim page explains.
Bike riders and the CTP scheme
Cyclists often assume they need insurance of their own to claim. They don't. The claim runs through the CTP insurance of the motor vehicle involved, so if a car, truck, bus or motorbike hit you while you were riding, it generally goes to that vehicle's insurer. Solo falls, collisions with other cyclists and crashes caused only by the road surface usually sit outside the scheme.
A helmet, lights after dark and your position on the road may all come up if the insurer says you contributed to the crash. Any reduction depends on evidence, including whether the missing item made an injury worse, and it generally shrinks a claim rather than ending it. Turning drivers are generally expected to give way to riders in a marked bike lane.
Read next:Cyclist accident claims
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Riding, walking or a passenger, anywhere in NSW: the check is by phone or online, it's free, and there's no pressure to go further.
Trucks and heavy vehicles
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.
If you were on foot
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.
Treatment and care for a child who was 16 or under at the time continues for as long as it's needed, and fault doesn't change that, even if the child ran onto the road. A parent or guardian lodges the claim. Notes from school about concentration, behaviour or missed days can help show how the injury affects them as time goes on.
Read next:Pedestrian accident claims
Riders: solo crashes, gear and lane position
Arguments in rider claims tend to centre on where the bike was and whether it was visible. Lane position, moving between lanes of slow traffic, headlights and the driver's sightline all come up, and the road rules for motorcycles are detailed. Write down what you were doing and where, as precisely as you can, and have someone who knows those rules look at it before you accept a fault finding.
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.
Read next:Motorcycle accident claims
What to keep, depending on how you were travelling
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
- Your ride-tracking or GPS file from the day
- Your damaged helmet and gear, kept unrepaired
- Names and numbers of witnesses who stopped
Read next:At-fault self-check
Riders, pedestrians and passengers: when a lawyer helps
The CTP scheme covers most road users, but the edge cases are where people get stuck. If the insurer says your crash isn't a motor accident, or your working arrangement complicates things, advice is often worth having.
Often worth talking to a lawyer
- You were hurt getting into or out of a vehicle and the insurer disputes cover
- The insurer says your riding gear or helmet made your injuries worse
- A heavy vehicle was involved and several parties are pointing at each other
- A truck or bus operator's records may matter and need to be kept
You may not need one
- What you need first is a doctor to treat and record your injuries
- You only need help working out which insurer to contact
- Your injuries are healing and treatment is being approved
Riders, cyclists and pedestrians often have several injuries at once. We can point you to doctors and allied health who work with CTP claims and can record each one on the Certificate of Fitness.
Not quite your situation?
- If you were inside a car when it crashed, whether driving or as a passenger, the car accident lawyer page covers fault for you. Car accident lawyer in Collaroy
- If the vehicle that hit you drove off or had no insurance, or you aren't sure what claim this is, start with the car accident claim page. Car accident claim in Collaroy
- If your real question is whether you need a lawyer at all for a CTP claim, the CTP lawyer page answers that directly. CTP lawyer in Collaroy
Frequently asked questions
Generally, yes. For a crash that happened in NSW, the NSW scheme usually applies, even when the vehicle is registered elsewhere. Identifying the right insurer can take a little longer, so give the insurer or CTP Assist the truck's plate, its state of registration, any company name and the exact location. Don't wait for that to be sorted before lodging, because the usual time limits still run from the date of the crash.
It usually starts as a workers compensation claim. When a crash happens while you're driving for your employer, you generally claim through the employer's insurer first, and CTP weekly payments and treatment aren't generally paid where workers compensation applies. A separate damages claim against an at-fault driver's CTP insurer may still be open. If you own your truck or work as a contractor, the answer may be different, so have your arrangements checked early.
It depends which vehicle was to blame. When the rider carrying you caused the crash, the claim goes to the Green Slip insurer of that motorbike. When a car or truck caused it, the claim goes to that vehicle's insurer instead. You weren't in control of the bike, so fault is rarely argued against you, though protective gear can occasionally come up. Your claim is against the insurer, not against the rider, even if they're your partner.
Possibly. The insurer may say that boots, gloves, a jacket or a helmet would have prevented or lessened a particular injury. If it can show that on the evidence, your claim may be reduced for contributory negligence, usually by a percentage. It rarely wipes out a claim, and it can't be assumed: medical opinion about how each injury happened matters. Cyclists face the same argument about helmets. Ask how any percentage was reached.
Often, yes. Coming off alone is still a motor accident, because your motorcycle is a registered motor vehicle with its own CTP policy. That insurer may pay statutory benefits even though no one else was involved. As a rider found wholly or mostly at fault, you'd generally get benefits for the first 52 weeks only, with no damages claim. A crash caused by another vehicle, even without contact, is different, so describe exactly what happened.
Where the crash was the truck driver's fault, your injury claim is made to the insurer on the truck's Green Slip, as it would be for a car. You don't claim against the trucking company or the driver personally. Their records still matter, because dashcam footage, telematics and the driver's hours can help show what happened. Lodge on time and mention early that the truck may hold footage, so it can be requested before it's overwritten.
Motor vehicle accident lawyer: suburbs near Collaroy
Related reading
- How motor accident compensation works in NSW
- Crashes while driving for work
- Rideshare accidents and CTP
- Crash while working? Quick check
- Fractures
- Knee Injury
- Hip Injury
- Pelvic Injury After a Car Accident
- Wrist and Hand Injury
- Motorcycle Accidents in NSW
- Pedestrian Hit by a Car
- Cyclist Hit by a Car
- Rideshare or Taxi Passenger Accident
- CTP claims for motorcyclists
- CTP claims for pedestrians
- CTP claims for cyclists
- CTP claims for rideshare drivers
- Northern Beaches: 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.