If you were hurt near Naremburn while riding a motorbike, cycling, walking, or travelling in a truck, bus, taxi or rideshare, the first question is whether it counts as a motor accident. In broad terms, NSW CTP covers injuries caused when a registered motor vehicle is used or operated. Most crashes with one are covered. Some are not. Our free check sorts out which side of that line you're on.
Lower North Shore & Ryde · Motor vehicle accident claims
A motor vehicle accident lawyer for road users in Naremburn
Most crashes involving a registered motor vehicle are covered. The edge cases are where advice helps.
Postcode: 2065
- Free claim check, no obligation
- By phone & online, no office to visit
- Helping people in Naremburn & St Leonards
Is it a motor accident? A quick guide
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.
Getting around Naremburn on two wheels, on foot or by bus
Office and station precincts in North Sydney, St Leonards, Chatswood and Macquarie Park carry heavy foot traffic, with busy crossings on the Pacific Highway. A pedestrian hit there usually has a motor accident claim. Near St Leonards station, buses pull in and out, taxis and rideshare cars stop briefly, and people cross between them. Injuries in that mix are often motor accidents, so note the vehicle's registration or route number. Riders and cyclists share the Gore Hill Freeway, Willoughby Road and Brook 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.
If you were hurt near the Naremburn shops on Willoughby Road, 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.
- Region
- Lower North Shore & Ryde
- Postcode
- 2065
- Getting around
- St Leonards station · Crows Nest Metro station
- Main roads
- Gore Hill Freeway · Willoughby Road
- Local landmarks
- Naremburn shops on Willoughby Road · Northbridge Golf Club
- Nearest public hospital
- Royal North Shore Hospital
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.
If a heavy vehicle was involved
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.
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.
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Not sure if your crash counts? Ask us
Ring (02) 7238 7379 or send us the basics online. There's no charge and no obligation, and we'll tell you whether the CTP scheme covers your crash.
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.
For an older person, being knocked down by a vehicle can mean weeks away from home and help with everyday tasks afterwards. Record what support they now need, from shopping to personal care. Age doesn't affect the right to claim, and a family member can help manage the claim if the injured person agrees.
Read next:Pedestrian accident claims
Motorcycle riders and pillion passengers
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.
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
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.
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
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.
- Your ride-tracking or GPS file from the day
- Written requests for shop, station or bus footage
- A screenshot of the rideshare or delivery trip
- Names and numbers of witnesses who stopped
Read next:At-fault self-check
Do you need a lawyer after a motor accident?
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
- A driver forced you off the road without contact and denies it
- Cover is disputed because you were riding an e-bike or e-scooter
- A heavy vehicle was involved and several parties are pointing at each other
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
- You were a bus or rideshare passenger and the insurer has accepted the claim
Recovery comes first. Ask us about doctors and allied health, including physiotherapists and psychologists, who understand motor accident claims and the Certificate of Fitness the insurer relies on.
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 Naremburn
- If you're not sure what kind of claim you have, or the vehicle drove off or wasn't insured, the car accident claim page sorts that out. Car accident claim in Naremburn
- 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 Naremburn
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.
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.
Sometimes. The test is whether the injury came from the use or operation of a motor vehicle. A passing car striking you as you open the door, or a bus pulling away while you're still on the step, can qualify. Slipping on a wet kerb with no vehicle movement involved usually won't. Note the vehicle, the time and exactly what moved, photograph the spot, and see a doctor promptly.
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.
Usually, yes. A car reversing out of a bay is a motor vehicle in use, and injuries caused that way are generally within the CTP scheme even though a car park isn't a street. Unusual settings, such as a private, gated area, can raise questions. Ask the centre in writing to hold its camera footage, note the bay number and the vehicle's plate, and get the facts checked if the insurer hesitates.
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.
Motor vehicle accident lawyer: suburbs near Naremburn
Related reading
- How motor accident compensation works in NSW
- Crash while working? Quick check
- At fault vs not at fault
- Rideshare accidents and CTP
- 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
- Lower North Shore & Ryde: 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.