Canterbury-Bankstown · Personal injury solicitors explained

Working with a personal injury solicitor from Bass Hill

What a solicitor does, what stays with you, and how to check who you're dealing with.

Solicitors don't make the big decisions on your claim. You do, on their advice, including whether to challenge a decision and whether to accept an offer. If you're in Bass Hill and weighing up legal help after a crash, it helps to understand the relationship before it starts. We offer a free claim check and, where a case needs one, connect you with an independent solicitor.

Postcode: 2197

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  • By phone & online, no office to visit
  • Helping people in Bass Hill & Georges Hall

Your solicitor's job, and what stays with you

Working with a solicitor is a partnership with clear roles. Your solicitor brings legal knowledge and handles the formal work. You keep control of your treatment, your information and the decisions that matter most. Here is how that generally divides.

Your solicitor's job

  • Advising you on your rights and options, in plain terms
  • Dealing with the insurer and preparing formal documents
  • Gathering the evidence you authorise them to obtain
  • Explaining any offer, then acting on your instructions about it

What stays with you

  • Your treatment, and keeping your own records of it
  • Giving clear instructions and accurate information
  • Telling your solicitor promptly about any change
  • Deciding whether to accept an offer or keep going

General information, not legal advice. How the work is split can vary, so ask your solicitor to explain it for your claim.

Who's who in legal help

You'll hear three words used, often loosely. A lawyer is anyone admitted to practise law. A solicitor is a lawyer who works directly with clients, handling advice, correspondence and the running of a claim. A barrister is a lawyer who mainly appears at hearings and advises on particular issues, and is usually engaged through your solicitor. For an injury claim, your main relationship is with a solicitor.

Read next:Do I need a lawyer for my CTP claim?

Moving your claim to someone else

If you're thinking about moving to another solicitor, first tell your current one what isn't working. Sometimes one frank conversation fixes it. If not, you are generally free to go. The new solicitor will usually handle the transfer of the file. Keep your own copies of key letters throughout, so a change never leaves you without the basic information about your claim.

Working with a solicitor from Bass Hill

If English isn't your first language, you can ask for an interpreter whenever you meet your solicitor. For a motor accident claim, CTP Assist on 1300 656 919 can arrange one for you. Many people around Bass Hill speak Arabic. If you'd be more comfortable giving instructions in your own language, say so early. CTP Assist, on 1300 656 919, can arrange an interpreter for a motor accident claim. Hospitals serving the area include Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital and Fairfield Hospital. Chasing records from them is usually the solicitor's job. Turning up for treatment, and telling your solicitor about any new referral or diagnosis, stays with you.

Your council, City of Canterbury-Bankstown, has no part in a CTP claim or in regulating solicitors. Those rules are set for the whole state, which is why a solicitor's standing can be checked the same way from anywhere.

Region
Canterbury-Bankstown
Postcode
2197
Community languages
Arabic
Nearest public hospital
Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital
Local government area
City of Canterbury-Bankstown

A solicitor for your claim: needed or not?

Not sure whether you're ready to instruct a solicitor? Look at what has happened in your claim so far. These lists sum up when it tends to be worth it and when it usually isn't.

Often worth talking to a lawyer

  • You would rather someone else dealt with the insurer for you
  • Your claim may be heading to a hearing
  • The other side's insurer disputes what happened
  • You already have a solicitor, but the relationship has broken down

You may not need one

  • You want help reading a form, not help challenging a decision
  • Your injury has healed and your benefits have been paid
  • You're managing your own claim comfortably and it's on track

A solicitor works from your medical records, so treatment comes first. We can suggest doctors and allied health familiar with CTP, from the Certificate of Fitness to ongoing therapy.

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
  • For what to do after an injury, the records worth keeping and choosing a lawyer in the first place, see the personal injury lawyer page. Personal injury lawyer in Bass Hill
  • If you're ready to engage a solicitor and wondering about the first meeting and the costs paperwork, the compensation solicitor page covers that ground. Compensation solicitor in Bass Hill
  • To see how a solicitor generally runs a CTP claim from start to finish, stage by stage, turn to the car accident solicitor page. Car accident solicitor in Bass Hill

Keeping your information confidential

Two ideas protect what you tell your solicitor. Confidentiality means they generally can't share your information without your consent. Privilege, in broad terms, can stop communications made to get legal advice from being handed to the other side. Neither is absolute, and medical evidence about your injury is generally shared with the insurer as part of the claim. Ask where the lines fall.

Others in the room

Having a family member on a call is usually fine, but a third party's presence can sometimes affect whether a conversation stays privileged. Ask your solicitor before sharing sensitive details in front of others.

Checking a solicitor's practising certificate

A practising certificate is, in effect, the licence a solicitor needs to provide legal services. In NSW the Law Society of NSW issues them, and you can generally search its online register to confirm a solicitor holds a current one. If you can't find someone, check the spelling, ask them for their full registered name, or contact the Law Society.

Titles on websites

Words like 'expert' on a website are marketing, not formal titles. 'Accredited specialist' is a formal title. If a solicitor uses it, you can ask which area of law it covers.

Read next:Do I need a lawyer? Quick check

You instruct, your solicitor advises

Good instructions start with good information. Tell your solicitor everything relevant, including the parts that don't help you, like an old injury or a gap in treatment. They can only advise properly on the whole picture. Then, when a decision is needed, they will set out the options. You choose, and they act on your choice.

Some instructions are standing ones, like 'email me rather than call' or 'don't ring me at work'. Others are one-off decisions. Both are yours to give and to change. If your circumstances shift, for example you move, return to work or your injury worsens, tell your solicitor, because it may change the advice.

What 'accredited specialist' means

'Accredited specialist' is a title with a specific meaning in NSW. The Law Society of NSW grants it to solicitors who have shown substantial experience in one area of law and passed the scheme's assessment. Personal injury is one of the areas covered. The title is optional: a solicitor doesn't need it to handle injury claims, and plenty of experienced ones don't hold it.

About the lawyers we connect people with

The lawyers we connect people with are described as independent and experienced in motor accident claims. If a formal title matters to you, ask the solicitor directly which ones they hold.

Concerns about a solicitor

If you believe a solicitor has acted improperly or charged unfairly, you can generally take it to the NSW Legal Services Commissioner. Before that, put your concern in writing to the solicitor and give them a chance to respond. Keep copies of everything. Changing solicitors and making a complaint are separate steps; you can take one without the other.

Two people going through a form together at a kitchen table, with a calculator and a laptop

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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.

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