Two questions come up after almost every crash: what should I be doing now, and do I need a lawyer? The first answer is much the same for everyone. Get the injury recorded, keep your own notes, and lodge your claim on time. The second depends on your injury and on what the insurer decides. For people in Kenthurst, our free claim check covers both, and there's no obligation to take any step we suggest.
The Hills · Personal injury lawyer help
Before calling a personal injury lawyer: a Kenthurst guide
What a lawyer will ask you, and the everyday records that help you answer.
Postcode: 2156
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Personal injury claims in NSW
'Personal injury' covers harm to your body or mind caused by an event, as opposed to damage to property. After a motor accident in NSW, the claim goes to a CTP insurer, and most injured people can claim statutory benefits whoever was at fault. Injuries at work sit under a separate workers compensation scheme with its own rules, and we can point you to the right help if that is you.
Read next:What a CTP claim is
What a personal injury lawyer needs to know first
A lawyer's first questions are practical. They want the date and place of the accident, the people and vehicles involved, what injuries you have and whether a claim has been lodged. They will also ask how the injury is affecting your work and home life. Having your own notes in front of you makes that conversation shorter and more accurate.
- What injuries do you have, and how serious are they?
- 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?
Read next:What to do after a car accident
Evidence you create as you recover
These are records only you can make, and they are easiest to make as things happen. None of them proves a claim on its own. Together they show how the injury has affected you, which is what an insurer or a lawyer needs to understand.
- Dates you missed work, and any duties you've had to change or hand over
- Activities you have stopped or cut back on since the crash
- Photos of visible injuries, taken again every week or so as they change
- Notes of calls with the insurer: the date, who you spoke to and what was said
- Copies of every form, email and letter you send the insurer
- 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.
Kenthurst: the local side of an injury claim
If standing on Sydney Metro North West or the T-way buses is harder since the crash, or you've started driving instead, that change is worth writing down with the date. Think about the places you go each week, like the Kenthurst village shops. Note what has become harder since the crash, and roughly when it started. A lawyer can use those notes; memory rarely holds them for long. 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 7 km from Castle Hill needn't slow anything down.
- Region
- The Hills
- Postcode
- 2156
- Local landmarks
- Kenthurst village shops · Fred Caterson Reserve
- Distance to Castle Hill
- ~7 km
Social media, surveillance and your records
Three things are worth knowing. Authorities you sign let the insurer obtain records about your injuries, so read what each one covers. Public posts can be seen and misread, so think before sharing photos of good days out of context. And surveillance is lawful within limits in some claims. If your account of your injury matches how you live, none of these should worry you.
Social media during a claim
Keep posts about the crash and your injury offline while the claim runs. Privacy settings help, but assume anything public may be read.
Choosing a personal injury lawyer
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
Recording how your injury changes
It's common to feel worse a few weeks after a crash than on the day itself. Adrenaline wears off, and stiffness or pain can build. Other problems, such as numbness, dizziness or trouble concentrating, may take time to show. Make sure each new symptom is recorded rather than waiting to see if it passes, and put the date in your diary.
Don't tidy up your records
Keep your notes plain and honest, with good days included. An accurate record carries more weight than one that looks as if it was written for the claim.
Read next:Injuries after a car accident
Work, home and the things you can't do now
Think beyond pay. Can you drive as far as before? Sleep through the night? Carry groceries, garden, play with your children, get through a shift without extra breaks? Each change is part of how the injury has affected you. A few lines a week about what you managed, and what you couldn't, will mean more later than a long account written from memory.
Self-employed or working casually? Your records matter even more, because there may be no payslip showing what you've lost. Keep invoices, the jobs you turned down and any work you handed to someone else. Working out lost earnings is the insurer's job, and a lawyer's if it's disputed, but both will need your records to do it.
When to get in touch
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:Do I need a lawyer? Quick check
Do you need a personal injury lawyer?
Most people hurt in a motor accident spend far more time on claim paperwork than with lawyers, and many never need a lawyer at all. These lists show where legal help tends to matter for an injury claim.
Often worth talking to a lawyer
- A request for treatment and care has been refused and you disagree
- New symptoms have appeared and the insurer doesn't accept they came from the crash
- You've been asked to attend an insurer examination and you're worried about the result
- The insurer says your symptoms come from an old injury, not the crash
You may not need one
- Your question is a general one that CTP Assist can answer
- Your symptoms have settled and you expect no lasting effects
- Your injury is settling well and your benefits are being paid
If you decide to speak with a lawyer, ask who will run your file day to day, how often you'll hear from them, and for a written costs disclosure before you agree to anything. Choosing a CTP lawyer
Not quite your situation?
- Injured at work rather than on the road? That is usually a workers compensation claim, which runs under different rules from CTP. The free claim check can point you to the right help. Free claim check
- If you're not yet sure which kind of claim you have, or what the word compensation covers, the compensation lawyer page is a better first stop. Compensation lawyer in Kenthurst
- If your question is how to check a solicitor and what the relationship involves, see the personal injury solicitor page. Personal injury solicitor in Kenthurst
- For a serious injury, and how its severity is measured in a claim, the injury compensation lawyer page goes further. Injury compensation lawyer in Kenthurst
Free claim check
Talk it through before choosing a lawyer
Tell us what you've recorded so far and what the insurer has said. A short, free conversation usually makes the next step clearer.
Frequently asked questions
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. Make sure every symptom, physical and emotional, is recorded and linked to the crash.
Yes, if you can. A short daily or weekly note of pain, sleep, mood, what you managed and what you couldn't is one of the most useful records you can have. It helps you describe the injury accurately, and it gives a lawyer or insurer the detail that memory loses. Keep it honest, include the good days, and date every entry.
Age doesn't stop you claiming. Older people can take longer to recover, and a crash can aggravate existing conditions such as arthritis, which makes clear, dated records especially important. Weekly payments are based on what you were earning before the accident, so they may not apply if you weren't working, but treatment and care can generally still be claimed. Rules can vary with circumstances, so check your own situation.
It can. Insurers may look at public posts, and a photo of you at a family barbecue can be misread even if you paid for it with a bad night afterwards. You don't have to go silent, but it's sensible to check your privacy settings, avoid posting about the accident or the claim, and think about how a post might look to someone who doesn't know you. If in doubt, leave it off.
When you claim, you'll generally be asked to authorise the insurer to obtain 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.
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 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 Kenthurst
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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.