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 Prestons, 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.
Liverpool & Fairfield · Motor vehicle accident claims
A motor vehicle accident lawyer for road users in Prestons
A bike, a bus or a footpath can change the answer. We help you work out whether it's a CTP matter.
Postcode: 2170
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- Helping people in Prestons & Hoxton Park
Is it a motor accident? A quick guide
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.
Local roads and transport near Prestons: who gets hurt, and how
The Moorebank intermodal terminal and the Wetherill Park industrial area put heavy trucks on the M5, the Cumberland Highway and The Horsley Drive. If a truck caused your crash, ask early about its footage. With bus stops for Liverpool and Leppington 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. On the Hume Highway or a side street, a crash with a motor vehicle is generally a CTP matter. If only the road surface brought you down, a cyclist usually has no CTP claim, though a motorcyclist's own Green Slip may still pay.
Busy places such as the Westlink M7 interchange 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
- Liverpool & Fairfield
- Postcode
- 2170
- Getting around
- bus services to Liverpool and Leppington
- Main roads
- Hume Highway · Bernera Road
- Local landmarks
- Westlink M7 interchange
- Nearest public hospital
- Liverpool Hospital
Is what happened near Prestons 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.
Riders: solo crashes, gear and lane position
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.
Broken bones, torn ligaments, nerve damage and head injuries are common in motorcycle crashes. Those are generally not threshold injuries, which matters for how long benefits run and whether damages may be possible. Make sure each doctor records every injury, not just the most painful one, and links it to the crash in their notes.
Read next:Motorcycle accident claims
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Not sure if your crash counts? Ask us
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.
If you were on a bike or e-scooter
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.
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.
Read next:Cyclist accident claims
If you were on foot
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.
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
Crashes with trucks: what's different
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.
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.
Evidence that matters for riders, cyclists and pedestrians
If you ride, your own devices may hold the strongest evidence. Helmet and handlebar cameras, bike computers and tracking apps can show your speed, your line and the moment of impact. Copy the original files somewhere safe straight away, before a device loops over them, and don't trim or edit anything. Keep your damaged helmet and gear as they are.
- Photos of the crossing, lane markings or bike lane
- Your damaged helmet and gear, kept unrepaired
- Written requests for shop, station or bus footage
- A screenshot of the rideshare or delivery trip
Read next:At-fault self-check
Riders, pedestrians and passengers: when a lawyer helps
Many riders, cyclists and pedestrians run their own claim once it's clear the crash counts as a motor accident. Advice matters more when cover is questioned, several parties are involved or the injuries are serious. These lists are a rough guide.
Often worth talking to a lawyer
- A heavy vehicle was involved and several parties are pointing at each other
- The crash happened near a state border and the scheme is unclear
- A truck or bus operator's records may matter and need to be kept
- You were hurt getting into or out of a vehicle and the insurer disputes cover
You may not need one
- You came off a bicycle alone and just need to confirm it isn't a CTP matter
- A pedestrian claim against an identified car is progressing smoothly
- The crash clearly involved a registered vehicle and nobody disputes cover
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 driving or a passenger in a car and the question is who caused the crash, the car accident lawyer page fits better. Car accident lawyer in Prestons
- 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 Prestons
- 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 Prestons
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.
On an e-bike, generally yes: you're usually in the same position as a pedal cyclist, and the claim goes to the car's CTP insurer. On an e-scooter, it's less certain. The scooter has no Green Slip, but the car does, so a claim against the car's insurer may still be possible. Expect questions about where you were riding and the type of device. Make a police report and get advice before accepting a refusal.
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 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.
Motor vehicle accident lawyer: suburbs near Prestons
Related reading
- How motor accident compensation works in NSW
- Gathering medical evidence
- 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
- Liverpool & Fairfield: 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.