Compensation Lawyer Help in NSW

Compensation after an injury in NSW isn't one system. It depends on how you were hurt. Injuries from a motor vehicle accident are generally claimed through the CTP scheme: the compulsory third party insurance attached to every registered vehicle, often called the green slip. That's the scheme CTP Lawyer helps with, whether you were driving, a passenger, riding, cycling or on foot.

If your accident happened on or after 1 December 2017, your claim is covered by the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (NSW). Accidents before that date fall under the older Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999. Under the current Act, most injured people can claim statutory benefits regardless of who was at fault.

First, which kind of claim is it?

A quick way to see where you stand. The free claim check goes through the same questions in more detail.

• Hurt in a motor accident in NSW: generally a CTP claim, made to a CTP insurer. This is what we help with, and the rest of this page is about it.
• Hurt at work: usually a workers compensation claim, which is a different scheme with its own insurers and rules. We don't cover it on this site, but tell us what happened and we can point you to the right help.
• Hurt in a crash while you were working, for example driving for work: workers compensation is generally claimed first, and CTP statutory benefits are generally not payable where workers compensation is available. A CTP damages claim against the at-fault driver may still be possible, so get advice before you settle either claim.
• Something else, such as a fall in a public place (a public liability claim), a total and permanent disability (TPD) claim through your super, or a complaint about medical treatment: usually outside what we help with. The claim check will tell you if that's the case.

Compensation after a motor accident, in brief

A NSW CTP claim has two parts. Statutory benefits come first: weekly payments if you can't work as you did before, and treatment and care. Most injured people can claim them regardless of fault, although people who were wholly or mostly at fault generally receive them for the first 52 weeks only.

Common law damages are a separate lump sum. You may be able to claim damages if another driver was at fault, you were not mostly at fault, and your injury is more than a threshold injury. Damages can include past and future loss of earnings. Damages for pain and suffering are only available if your whole person impairment is more than 10%.

There's no honest general figure for what a claim is worth. It turns on your injuries, your earnings, fault and timing, which is why nobody should quote you a number before looking at your claim.

What a compensation lawyer does

In a motor accident claim, the work usually falls into a handful of kinds. Not every claim needs all of them, and many claims need none.

• Explaining what you may be entitled to, which parts of the scheme apply to you, and which deadlines matter most.
• Building the evidence: medical reports, proof of what you earned before the accident, and how the injury affects your work and daily life.
• Dealing with the insurer for you, including its requests for information and any formal statement it asks for.
• Challenging decisions you disagree with, first through the insurer's internal review and, if needed, at the Personal Injury Commission.
• Working out whether a damages claim is open, putting a value on it, and advising you on any offer before you sign.

Compensation lawyer, personal injury lawyer, CTP lawyer?

The labels overlap. In NSW, the lawyers who run motor accident claims may call themselves compensation lawyers, personal injury lawyers, CTP lawyers or motor accident lawyers, and in most cases the lawyer you deal with day to day is a solicitor. The title matters less than experience with NSW motor accident claims, because the CTP scheme has its own rules, forms and deadlines.

Do you actually need one?

Often not, or not yet. Plenty of people lodge a CTP claim, receive weekly payments and treatment, and never need a lawyer. SIRA funds a free CTP Legal Advisory Service for statutory benefits questions, and CTP Assist (1300 656 919) explains how the scheme works.

Legal help tends to matter when something is contested or the stakes rise: the claim is refused, the insurer says your injury is a threshold injury and your doctors disagree, payments or treatment stop, fault is argued, an offer arrives, a damages claim may be open, the injury is serious, or someone has died.

If what you need first is treatment or a Certificate of Fitness, start with a doctor. We can point you to doctors experienced with CTP claims and to allied health such as physiotherapy and psychology.

Time limits still apply

Compensation claims after a motor accident run to deadlines. To get weekly payments back-paid to the day after the accident, the insurer generally needs your claim within 28 days. You can still claim up to 3 months after the accident, but weekly payments may only start from the date of the claim. A common law damages claim must generally be made within 3 years of the accident.

Costs, and what 'no win, no fee' means

Our claim check is free and there's no obligation to go any further.

Many motor accident lawyers offer 'no win, no fee' arrangements. Generally, that means their professional fees are only payable if the claim succeeds, but terms vary, and some costs, such as medical reports, may be treated differently. Legal costs in NSW CTP claims are also regulated, and for some disputes legal costs can't be recovered at all. Ask for a written costs disclosure and costs agreement before you sign.

How we can help

CTP Lawyer isn't a law firm and doesn't give legal advice. It's a free NSW service: you tell us what happened and where your claim is up to, and we point you to the help that fits. When a case calls for legal help, we'll connect you with an independent lawyer experienced in motor accident claims. When treatment or a Certificate of Fitness comes first, we can point you to doctors and allied health.

There's no obligation. If your claim looks like one you can manage on your own for now, you'll hear that from us too.