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 treated, keep records, and lodge your claim on time. The second depends on your injury and on what the insurer decides. For people in Mangrove Mountain, our free claim check covers both, and there's no obligation to take any step we suggest.
Central Coast · Personal injury lawyer help
Before calling a personal injury lawyer: a Mangrove Mountain guide
General information about motor accident injury claims in NSW, not legal advice.
Postcode: 2250
- Free claim check, no obligation
- By phone & online, no office to visit
- Helping people in Mangrove Mountain & Narara
Getting treatment and keeping records from Mangrove Mountain
Gosford Hospital and Wyong Hospital are the Coast's main public hospitals. If one of them saw you after the crash, keep the paperwork with your own notes. Mangrove Mountain is about 20 km north-west of Gosford, but you don't need to travel for a claim check or a first talk with a lawyer. Both can happen by phone and online, around your treatment.
- Region
- Central Coast
- Postcode
- 2250
- Public hospital in the region
- Gosford Hospital
- Distance to Gosford
- ~20 km
Is it time to talk to a lawyer about your injury?
Whether a lawyer is worth it depends mostly on how serious your injury is and what the insurer decides about it. Here is a general guide to both sides of that question.
Often worth talking to a lawyer
- Forms, certificates and insurer requests are piling up while you recover
- An offer has arrived and you can't tell whether it reflects your injury
- The insurer says your symptoms come from an old injury, not the crash
- New symptoms have appeared and the insurer doesn't accept they came from the crash
You may not need one
- Your claim is accepted and nothing the insurer has decided worries you
- You mainly need the right doctor or physio, not legal advice
- Your symptoms have settled and you expect no lasting effects
Good treatment and good records go together. Ask us about doctors and allied health familiar with CTP, from GPs who complete the Certificate of Fitness to physiotherapists and psychologists.
Not quite your situation?
- Hurt at work, or in a crash while you were working? That is usually a workers compensation claim first, which is a different scheme from CTP. Tell us what happened and 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 Mangrove Mountain
- If your question is how to check a solicitor and what the relationship involves, see the personal injury solicitor page. Personal injury solicitor in Mangrove Mountain
- If your injury is serious or may be permanent, the injury compensation lawyer page explains what that means for compensation. Injury compensation lawyer in Mangrove Mountain
Personal injury claims in NSW
In NSW, compensation for an injury usually runs through a scheme rather than a simple lawsuit, and which scheme depends on how you were hurt. If the injury came from a motor accident on or after 1 December 2017, it is generally claimed through CTP insurance under the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017. That is the kind of claim we help with, whether you were driving, a passenger, riding, cycling or on foot.
Read next:What a CTP claim is
Recording how your injury changes
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
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
What to look for in 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.
It's fine to speak to more than one lawyer before deciding, and fine to take a day to think. You shouldn't feel pressed to sign on the spot. If we connect you with an independent lawyer after your claim check, you remain free to decide not to go ahead with them.
Read next:Choosing a CTP lawyer
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 a doctor, an insurer or a lawyer needs to understand.
- Photos of visible injuries, taken again every week or so as they change
- Activities you have stopped or cut back on since the crash
- Notes of calls with the insurer: the date, who you spoke to and what was said
- A current list of your medications and doses, updated when they change
- Everyday tasks you now need help with, and who is helping
- A short symptom diary: pain, sleep and mood, a line or two a day
General information, not legal advice. Your records support a claim; they don't decide it. Time limits apply.
Free claim check
A free, no-obligation look at your injury claim
Tell us about your injury and where your claim is up to. We'll say whether a lawyer, a doctor or neither would help.
The first questions a lawyer will ask
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.
- What injuries do you have, and who is treating them?
- Have you lodged a claim yet, and on what date?
- 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
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
An examination with a doctor the insurer picks is generally worth attending. Describe your symptoms accurately, then make a short note of what happened while it is fresh.
Read next:The Certificate of FitnessInsurer medical examinations
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.
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.
When it's worth asking for help
Get in touch when something changes: a new symptom, a letter from the insurer, a return to work that isn't working, or an offer you're unsure about. Those are the points where advice tends to matter. Many people simply want someone to confirm they're on track, which is a good reason too. We'll tell you honestly if you don't need a lawyer.
Read next:What help do I need? Quick check
Frequently asked questions
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.
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 medical 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.
See your GP, describe exactly what has changed and when, and make sure the record links it to the crash. Keep your symptom diary going. If you've already lodged a claim, tell the insurer about the change and send any new certificate. If you haven't lodged yet, do it without further delay and ask about the time limits for your situation. What a worse injury means for your entitlements is worth checking with us.
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.
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 to doctors, and it gives a lawyer or insurer the detail that memory loses. Keep it honest, include the good days, and date every entry.
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.
Personal injury lawyer: suburbs near Mangrove Mountain
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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.