Being injured changes ordinary days: sleep, work, driving, lifting a child. If a crash near Gordon did that to you, those changes are the substance of a personal injury claim, and they are easy to forget once you start to recover. Write them down as they happen. When a lawyer is worth talking to, we'll connect you with an independent one experienced in motor accident claims.
Upper North Shore & Hornsby · Personal injury lawyer help
Injured near Gordon? Personal injury lawyer basics
The notes you keep now often count for more than anything you try to remember later.
Postcode: 2072
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Getting treatment and keeping records from Gordon
If you rode the Old Pacific Highway north of Berowra before the crash and can't now, record it. Activities you have had to give up belong in your diary as much as pain does. Think about the places you go each week, like the Ku-ring-gai Council chambers. Note what has become harder since the crash, and roughly when it started. A lawyer or doctor can use those notes; memory rarely holds them for long. If you were taken to Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital or seen there after the crash, ask for a copy of the discharge summary. It is often the first written record of your injury, and it belongs with your own notes.
When travel is painful, help should come to you. The claim check runs by phone and online, and many motor accident lawyers work that way too, so being 4 km from Macquarie Park needn't slow anything down.
- Region
- Upper North Shore & Hornsby
- Postcode
- 2072
- Local landmarks
- Ku-ring-gai Council chambers · Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden
- Nearest public hospital
- Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital
- Distance to Macquarie Park
- ~4 km
Is it time to talk to a lawyer about your injury?
A lawyer can't speed up your recovery, but can help when your injury and the insurer's view of it don't line up. Use these lists as a rough guide, then check your own situation with us for free.
Often worth talking to a lawyer
- New symptoms have appeared and the insurer doesn't accept they came from the crash
- Your injury isn't improving and you're unsure what that means for your claim
- Forms, certificates and insurer requests are piling up while you recover
- Your injury may affect your ability to earn for years, not months
You may not need one
- Your symptoms have settled and you expect no lasting effects
- Your question is a general one that CTP Assist can answer
- Your claim is accepted and nothing the insurer has decided worries you
If your injury has changed, or you're not sure your treating team has the full picture, a fresh look can help. We can suggest doctors and allied health who know CTP and the Certificate of Fitness.
Not quite your situation?
- If the injury happened at work, including on the road for work, workers compensation is usually the scheme that applies first, not CTP. After a crash, a CTP damages claim may still be possible. We can point you to the right help. Free claim check
- If you are still working out what kind of claim covers your injury, and what compensation means, the compensation lawyer page starts there. Compensation lawyer in Gordon
- The personal injury solicitor page covers how to check a solicitor's credentials and how the working relationship generally goes. Personal injury solicitor in Gordon
- For a serious injury, and how its severity is measured in a claim, the injury compensation lawyer page goes further. Injury compensation lawyer in Gordon
What 'personal injury' means for a claim
People search for a personal injury lawyer after all sorts of accidents, but the rules depend on the kind of accident. For a motor vehicle crash in NSW, the claim is made to a CTP insurer, and the scheme sets what can be paid and when. That is our focus. The guidance below is about looking after yourself and your records, which matter whichever way a claim goes.
Read next:What a CTP claim is
What a personal injury lawyer needs to know first
Most first conversations with a personal injury lawyer cover the same ground. How did the accident happen? Who else was involved? How serious is the injury, and what treatment have you had? And when did it happen, because dates drive the deadlines. You don't need perfect answers. Honest, approximate ones, backed by whatever notes you have, are enough to start.
- Has the insurer made any decisions or requests?
- How is the injury affecting your work and home life?
- Have you signed anything about the accident?
- Were you hurt or unwell in the same area before?
Read next:What to do after a car accident
Work, home and the things you can't do now
The effect of an injury on your life is a large part of any claim, and it's often the least recorded. Time off shows up in payslips. What doesn't show up is the lifting you now avoid, the shifts you swapped, the sport you stopped, or the help you need with children or shopping. Note these as they happen, with dates, in plain words.
Don't forget the costs of being injured. Medicines, taxis or parking for treatment, a pillow or brace your physio suggested: keep the receipts, even small ones, in one place. The insurer generally pays for treatment and care that is reasonable and necessary, and receipts are how you show what you've spent along the way.
Records worth keeping from now on
You don't need to be organised about it, just consistent. A notebook, a folder on your phone and an envelope for receipts cover most of this list. Start with whichever item feels easiest.
- A dated log of every GP, specialist, physio and hospital visit
- A short symptom diary: pain, sleep and mood, a line or two a day
- Dates you missed work, and any duties you've had to change or hand over
- Receipts for medicines, treatment, aids and travel to treatment
- Notes of calls with the insurer: the date, who you spoke to and what was said
- Everyday tasks you now need help with, and who is helping
General information, not legal advice. Your records support a claim; they don't decide it. Time limits apply.
Free claim check
Not sure what your injury claim needs?
Free and no obligation. If your case calls for a lawyer, we'll connect you with an independent one experienced in motor accident claims.
Injuries that improve slowly, or get worse
If your injury changes, your records should change with it. A symptom diary that stops after a fortnight can suggest you recovered, even if you didn't. Keep it going, even at a line or two, until your treating doctor says things have settled. What a change means for your claim is a separate question, and someone can answer it once the change is written down.
Don't tidy up your records
Write what actually happened, including the good days. A diary that records only bad days is less convincing than an honest one, and harder to rely on later.
Read next:Injuries after a car accident
Your GP, your treating team and the notes they keep
Treatment and care that is reasonable and necessary for your injuries is generally paid for by the insurer, within your benefit periods. The insurer decides each request, and its decisions can be reviewed. Your part is to follow the treatment plan, turn up to the sessions arranged for you, and keep copies of certificates and reports. Gaps in treatment are hard to explain later.
If the insurer arranges its own examination
The insurer may ask you to see a doctor it chooses. Go, be honest, and describe your symptoms as they are on the day. Afterwards, jot down how long it took and what was examined.
Read next:The Certificate of FitnessInsurer medical examinations
How to choose a lawyer if you need one
Useful questions for a lawyer are simple ones. Have you run many NSW CTP claims? Who will I deal with most of the time? How will you tell me what's happening, and how often? What will you need from me? Listen for plain answers. A lawyer who explains things clearly at the start is more likely to keep doing so.
Notice how a lawyer treats you before you sign anything. Did they listen to your account, or jump to conclusions? Did they explain what they don't know yet? Did they mention that some claims don't need a lawyer at all? Early signs like these tell you a lot about the working relationship ahead.
Read next:Choosing a CTP lawyer
When it's worth asking for help
Earlier is usually easier. A claim lodged within 28 days of the accident can have weekly payments back-paid to the day after it, and some insurer decisions have short windows for review. If you're unsure about anything, from which form to fill in to whether your injury is being taken seriously, a free claim check is a low-effort way to see where you stand.
Read next:What help do I need? Quick check
Frequently asked questions
Look for experience with NSW motor accident claims specifically, not just personal injury in general. Ask who will run your file day to day, how you'll be kept informed, and what they will need from you. Notice whether they explain things plainly and tell you honestly if your claim may not need a lawyer at all. If we connect you with an independent lawyer, you're free to decide not to go ahead.
Any harm to your body or mind caused by the accident. That includes obvious injuries, like fractures or cuts, and less visible ones, like soft tissue damage, concussion, ongoing pain, anxiety or post-traumatic stress. Psychological injuries can be part of a CTP claim in their own right, not only alongside a physical one. Tell your GP about every symptom, physical and emotional, so each one is recorded and linked to the crash.
When you claim, you'll generally be asked to authorise the insurer to obtain medical information relevant to your injuries. That can include records from before the accident if they bear on the same part of the body or on your capacity to work. Read any authority before signing it, and ask the insurer what it covers if you're unsure. A lawyer can check whether a request goes further than it should.
Generally, yes. You can choose your own treating doctor, and many people prefer a GP who already knows their history. What matters is that your GP is willing to complete the Certificate of Fitness, keep it current and describe all your injuries. If your GP would rather not be involved with a CTP claim, we can point you to doctors experienced with these claims.
Photos help, particularly for bruising, cuts, swelling, scars and anything that changes as it heals. Take them soon after the accident and again every week or so, with the date recorded. Keep the originals on your phone or computer rather than edited copies. Photos of aids you now use, like a brace or crutches, can help too. They support your medical records; they don't replace them.
In some claims, insurers do use surveillance, generally where a lot is at stake or something in the claim doesn't add up to them. It is lawful within limits. The simplest protection is accuracy: tell your doctors and the insurer what you can and can't do, including the good days. If your records match how you actually live, footage has little to show.
Personal injury lawyer: suburbs near Gordon
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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.