Road users outside a car face questions drivers rarely do. Does a solo motorbike crash count? Is a bicycle covered? What about an e-scooter, a bus or a delivery job? People from Kings Cross can use our free claim check by phone or online to get plain answers, then be pointed to the right help, which is often simpler than they expect.
Sydney CBD & inner city · Motor vehicle accident claims
Not in a car? A motor accident lawyer for Kings Cross
Came off, knocked down or hurt as a passenger? Start with whether it counts as a motor accident.
Postcode: 2011
- Free claim check, no obligation
- By phone & online, no office to visit
- Helping people in Kings Cross & Woolloomooloo
Usually covered, or check first?
Riders, pedestrians and passengers often aren't sure whether their crash counts. The first list shows situations that are usually covered. The second shows ones that often aren't, and are worth checking before you give up on a claim.
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.
Kings Cross road users and the CTP scheme
City streets carry very heavy foot traffic around Town Hall, Wynyard and Central, with light rail on George Street. A pedestrian hit there by a car, bus or delivery vehicle generally claims through that vehicle's CTP insurer. Around Kings Cross station, 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. Riders and cyclists share William Street, Darlinghurst Road and Victoria Street with cars and heavy vehicles. If a vehicle forced you off or turned across you, you may have a claim against its insurer even without contact.
Busy places such as the El Alamein Fountain, the Kings Cross Coca-Cola sign and the Darlinghurst Road strip bring people on foot, cyclists and turning cars together. A pedestrian hit in a car park open to the public may still have a CTP claim, depending on the details.
- Region
- Sydney CBD & inner city
- Postcode
- 2011
- Getting around
- Kings Cross station · bus stops on William Street and Bayswater Road
- Main roads
- William Street · Darlinghurst Road
- Local landmarks
- El Alamein Fountain · Kings Cross Coca-Cola sign
- Nearest public hospital
- St Vincent's Hospital
Is what happened near Kings Cross a motor accident?
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.
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.
If you were on a bike or e-scooter
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.
Where a shared path crosses a driveway or a car park entry, bikes and cars meet at an angle drivers don't always check. If a car pulling in or out hit you there, you may have a claim against its insurer. Photograph the path markings, any give-way signs and the view the driver would have had.
Read next:Cyclist accident claims
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Riders, walkers, passengers: free check
Tell us how you were travelling and what happened. We'll say whether it looks like a motor accident claim and who can help.
Walking, crossing and car parks: pedestrian claims
Pedestrian injuries can be serious because there's nothing between you and the vehicle. Fractures, hip and pelvic injuries and head injuries are common. Statutory benefits are available to most injured pedestrians whoever caused the crash, and a damages claim may be possible where the driver was at fault. Ask your doctors to note each injury, including the less obvious ones.
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.
Read next:Pedestrian accident claims
If you were on a motorbike
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.
When a pothole, oil or loose gravel is the only reason a rider came down, there is usually no other vehicle's Green Slip to claim against. The rider's own bike insurer may still pay statutory benefits. Any complaint about how a road was maintained sits outside CTP, with its own rules and time limits, so get advice early if that's your situation.
Read next:Motorcycle accident claims
If a heavy vehicle was involved
Heavy-vehicle crashes often draw in more people than a car crash: an operator, perhaps a separate trailer owner, a company that loaded the truck, and other drivers. Your injury claim still starts in one place, the CTP insurer of the vehicle at fault. Questions about the other parties can wait, and a lawyer can look at them if a damages claim follows.
Interstate trucks are a constant presence on the Hume, Pacific and Newell highways. A crash with one in NSW is generally still handled under the NSW scheme, though identifying the insurer can take longer. Make sure the claim records the truck's home state and the precise location, so the paperwork doesn't stall.
What to keep, depending on how you were travelling
For pedestrians, the key evidence is usually outside your control: shop, station, bus and council cameras, and dashcams in passing cars. Ask for footage in writing as early as you can. Witnesses who saw where you were crossing matter too. A police report and the ambulance record complete the picture of where and how the vehicle hit you.
- Helmet, handlebar or dashcam footage, saved as the original file
- Your ride-tracking or GPS file from the day
- The vehicle's registration, company name or route number
- Photos of the crossing, lane markings or bike lane
Read next:At-fault self-check
Riders, pedestrians and passengers: when a lawyer helps
Whether you need a lawyer depends on how clear your situation is. A pedestrian hit by an identified car usually has a straightforward path. An e-scooter crash, a delivery job or a truck with several parties can be harder.
Often worth talking to a lawyer
- A truck or bus operator's records may matter and need to be kept
- The insurer says your crash wasn't a motor accident at all
- The insurer says your riding gear or helmet made your injuries worse
- You were delivering or driving for a platform and aren't sure which claim comes first
You may not need one
- Your injuries are healing and treatment is being approved
- The crash clearly involved a registered vehicle and nobody disputes cover
- What you need first is a doctor to treat and record your injuries
If treatment is what you need now, start there. We can put you in touch with doctors and allied health experienced with CTP claims, who can complete the Certificate of Fitness and link your injuries to the crash.
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 Kings Cross
- 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 Kings Cross
- 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 Kings Cross
Frequently asked questions
Often it's CTP. Rideshare platforms commonly treat drivers as independent contractors, not employees. On that footing you claim like any other injured driver: benefits through the Green Slip of the vehicle at fault, which is your own car's if you caused the crash, and a possible damages claim where another driver was to blame. If your arrangement actually makes you an employee, the position may be different, so have it checked.
You may be able to. Contact isn't what decides it. If the way another vehicle was driven caused you to crash, for example by pulling out or cutting across your line, you may have a claim against that vehicle's CTP insurer. The difficulty is proof. Look for witnesses, helmet-camera or dashcam footage and any part of the registration. Write down where the vehicle came from and what it did while it's fresh.
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.
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.
In most cases, yes. The door belongs to a parked motor vehicle, and opening it is treated as part of using that vehicle, so your injury claim is made to its CTP insurer. That holds whether the person who opened it was the driver or a passenger. Before they leave, take the car's registration and their name, and photograph the door, your bike and where you came down. If the insurer questions cover, ask for advice.
Usually the Green Slip of whichever vehicle caused the crash. That's the rideshare car itself if your driver was to blame, or the other car if its driver was. The app company isn't the one you claim from, and neither is the driver personally. Save a screenshot of the trip showing the driver, the car's plate and the route, because app records aren't always easy to retrieve later.
Motor vehicle accident lawyer: suburbs near Kings Cross
Related reading
- How motor accident compensation works in NSW
- Gathering medical evidence
- Rideshare accidents and CTP
- Crashes while driving for work
- At fault vs not at fault
- 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
- Sydney CBD & inner city: 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.