Being injured changes ordinary days: sleep, work, driving, lifting a child. If a crash near Tathra 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.
South Coast & Shoalhaven · Personal injury lawyer help
Personal injury lawyer Tathra
The notes you keep now often count for more than anything you try to remember later.
Postcode: 2550
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- Helping people in Tathra & Bega
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
The medical side of an injury claim
Medical records are the backbone of an injury claim. In NSW CTP claims your doctor completes a Certificate of Fitness, which records your injuries and your capacity for work. Keep each one, check it lists all your injuries, and arrange your next visit before the current certificate runs out. If something is missing, raise it with your doctor rather than the insurer.
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
What to write down, photograph and keep
Memory fades quickly after an injury, especially on days when you're in pain. A few simple records kept from the start save you trying to rebuild, months later, what happened, what it cost and what you couldn't do.
- Receipts for medicines, treatment, aids and travel to treatment
- Copies of every form, email and letter you send the insurer
- Photos of visible injuries, taken again every week or so as they change
- A current list of your medications and doses, updated when they change
- Activities you have stopped or cut back on since the crash
- 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.
After a crash near Tathra: where your records begin
Shoalhaven District Memorial Hospital, Milton-Ulladulla Hospital or South East Regional Hospital may have treated you. Ask for copies and keep them with your symptom diary. Everyday places around Tathra, such as Tathra Wharf, are a useful measure of how an injury has changed things. If a trip there now takes planning, rest breaks or a lift from someone, write it down. Tathra is about 338 km from the Sydney CBD, but claim help shouldn't cost you a trip anywhere. The claim check, and most dealings with a lawyer, can happen by phone and online, which leaves your energy for treatment.
- Region
- South Coast & Shoalhaven
- Postcode
- 2550
- Local landmarks
- Tathra Wharf
- Nearest public hospital
- South East Regional Hospital
- From the Sydney CBD
- ~338 km
What to look for in a personal injury lawyer
If you decide you need a lawyer, look for experience with NSW motor accident claims in particular. Personal injury covers many schemes, and the CTP rules on benefits, thresholds and deadlines are a world of their own. Ask how much of the lawyer's current work is motor accident claims, and how far those claims usually go. A clear, specific answer is a good sign.
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
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
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?
- Has the insurer made any decisions or requests?
- 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
How the injury affects work and daily life
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.
Getting help at the right time
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
Do you need a personal injury lawyer?
Most people hurt in a motor accident spend far more time with doctors 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
- Forms, certificates and insurer requests are piling up while you recover
- New symptoms have appeared and the insurer doesn't accept they came from the crash
- You've been asked to see the insurer's doctor and you're worried about the result
- An offer has arrived and you can't tell whether it reflects your injury
You may not need one
- You mainly need the right doctor or physio, not legal advice
- Your claim is accepted and nothing the insurer has decided worries you
- 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 Tathra
- The personal injury solicitor page covers how to check a solicitor's credentials and how the working relationship generally goes. Personal injury solicitor in Tathra
- For a serious injury, and how its severity is measured in a claim, the injury compensation lawyer page goes further. Injury compensation lawyer in Tathra
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Not sure what your injury claim needs?
Tell us about your injury and where your claim is up to. We'll say whether a lawyer, a doctor or neither would help.
Frequently asked questions
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.
Whenever suits you, but earlier helps. A claim lodged within 28 days can have weekly payments back-paid to the day after the accident. Contact also helps when something changes, such as a new symptom, a refused treatment request or an offer you're unsure about. There is no charge for the claim check, and no obligation afterwards. If you only need a doctor or some reassurance, we'll say so.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Personal injury lawyer: suburbs near Tathra
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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.