A motor accident claim in NSW turns on a motor vehicle, not on what you were riding or where you were walking. If a car, truck, bus or motorbike played a part in how you were hurt near Kurrajong Heights, you may have a claim even though you weren't driving. The edge cases are technical, so our free check starts there before anything else.
Hawkesbury · Motor vehicle accident claims
Motor vehicle accident lawyer help for Kurrajong Heights
Riders, pedestrians, cyclists and passengers: whether the NSW motor accident scheme covers what happened to you.
Postcode: 2758
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- Helping people in Kurrajong Heights & Kurrajong
Usually covered, or check first?
Whether you can make a motor accident claim depends on whether a motor vehicle was involved in how you were hurt, not on whether you were driving. Use the two lists as a rough guide. The details decide the harder cases.
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.
Kurrajong Heights road users and the CTP scheme
Weekend riders head for the Putty Road, Bells Line of Road and the river roads out to Wisemans Ferry and St Albans. A rider who comes off there alone may still be covered by the bike's own Green Slip. With Richmond station nearby, many people walk or cycle to catch a service. If a vehicle hit you on the way, your claim is generally made to that vehicle's CTP insurer, whether or not you own a car. If you were hurt near the Kurrajong Heights lookout over the Hawkesbury, ask nearby businesses, and the venue if there is one, to keep camera footage. It's often kept only briefly, and it can show how a vehicle and a person on foot or on a bike met.
Hospitals serving the area include Hawkesbury District Health Service. 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
- Hawkesbury
- Postcode
- 2758
- Getting around
- Richmond station
- Main roads
- Bells Line of Road · Hermitage Road
- Local landmarks
- Kurrajong Heights lookout over the Hawkesbury · Bilpin orchards
- Nearest public hospital
- Hawkesbury District Health Service
The motor accident test, in plain terms
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.
Getting into or out of a vehicle is a common grey area. If a passing car hit you as you stepped out, or your driver moved off while you were halfway out, the injury may come from the use of a motor vehicle. Whether it does depends on exactly what happened, so write it down while it's fresh and have it checked.
Cyclists, e-bikes and e-scooters
Dooring is one of the more common ways cyclists are hurt in busy streets. A car door opened into your path is generally part of using that car, even while it's parked, so the injury claim goes to its CTP insurer. Before the car leaves, record its plate and who opened the door, and photograph the door and where you fell.
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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Not sure if your crash counts? Ask us
We'll check cover, the insurer involved and your deadlines, then point you to a lawyer or doctor only if your claim needs one.
If you were on a motorbike
Missing or inadequate gear can become an argument: the insurer may claim a particular injury would have been less serious with proper protection. Where the evidence backs that up, contributory negligence can reduce the claim by a percentage. If the rider is found more than 61% at fault, the damages claim is lost, and statutory benefits are generally limited to the first 52 weeks. Keep damaged gear unrepaired, and photograph it from every side.
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
Walking, crossing and car parks: pedestrian claims
A pedestrian hit by a car, truck, bus or motorbike claims against that vehicle's CTP insurer. You don't need a car or a licence. Drivers must keep a lookout for pedestrians, yet blame doesn't always sit with the driver alone. An insurer may argue you contributed, for example by crossing against the lights, which can reduce some later entitlements without stopping the 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.
Read next:Pedestrian 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.
Injuries from a crash with a heavy vehicle are often serious: fractures, head injuries and injuries to the spine. Medical evidence needs to cover every injury, and early legal advice can be worth having because more parties and more records are involved. That doesn't mean you need a lawyer to lodge, only that the file can become complex.
Evidence that matters for riders, cyclists and pedestrians
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
- The vehicle's registration, company name or route number
- Written requests for shop, station or bus footage
Read next:At-fault self-check
A motor accident lawyer: when it's worth a call
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
- You were delivering or driving for a platform and aren't sure which claim comes first
- The insurer says your crash wasn't a motor accident at all
- The insurer says your riding gear or helmet made your injuries worse
- Your injuries include fractures, a head injury or nerve damage
You may not need one
- Your injuries are healing and treatment is being approved
- What you need first is a doctor to treat and record your injuries
- You only need help working out which insurer to contact
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 Kurrajong Heights
- 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 Kurrajong Heights
- If you already know it's a motor accident and just want to know whether a lawyer is worth it, see the CTP lawyer page. CTP lawyer in Kurrajong Heights
Frequently asked questions
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.
A child who was 16 or under at the time can get the treatment and care they need for as long as they need it, and that doesn't depend on fault, even if they ran onto the road. A parent or guardian usually lodges the claim with the car's CTP insurer. Other entitlements may depend on fault and the injury. Keep school and medical records together, as some effects only become clear over time.
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.
Buses carry CTP insurance like any registered vehicle, and a pedestrian hit by one generally claims through that policy. Write down the route, the time, which way the bus was heading and the nearest stop. Transport operators commonly have cameras inside and outside their buses, so put a request in writing quickly. CTP Assist on 1300 656 919 can help you identify the insurer if you can't work it out.
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.
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.
Motor vehicle accident lawyer: suburbs near Kurrajong Heights
Related reading
- How motor accident compensation works in NSW
- At fault vs not at fault
- Gathering medical evidence
- Crash while working? Quick check
- Crashes while driving for work
- 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
- Hawkesbury: 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.