Motorcycle Accident Claims Guide.

14 November 2023

Injury and Rehabilitation, Motor Vehicle Accident

If you’ve been injured and you’re planning to make a motorcycle accident claim, there’s some important information you need to be aware of to make sure you receive everything you’re entitled to. If your claim is simply processed, key details may be overlooked, and you could miss out on substantial entitlements.

In this claims guide we explain everything you need to know to claim your full motorbike injury compensation entitlements, which may include lump sum payments. We’ve also included expert tips from our lawyers based on hundreds of successful motorcycle accident claims.

What you need to know about motorcycle accident injury claims in NSW.

If you’ve been injured in a motorcycle accident in NSW, you have the right to claim compensation for your injuries through the CTP scheme. This applies to being knocked off your bike as well as accidents that don’t involve other vehicles.

Many injured riders simply submit their ‘application for personal injury benefits’ online or with the CTP insurer of the vehicle that hit them. However, the insurer that will be paying your benefits will also be assessing your claim, and your full entitlements won’t be paid to you automatically. If you fail to lodge all the appropriate forms and provide all the relevant information, you may never know what you’ve missed out on.

What many people don’t realise is that in addition to weekly benefits, injured motorcycle riders are often entitled to additional lump sum motorcycle accident compensation due to the severity of their injuries. Read on to learn if this applies to you, and how to claim your lump sum compensation entitlements.

What are my motorcycle accident compensation entitlements in NSW?

If you’ve been knocked off your bike, after you’ve notified the CTP insurer of the vehicle mostly at fault in your accident, you need to lodge an application for personal injury benefits. You have 28 days after the date of the accident to lodge your motorcycle accident claim to get back payment for any lost wages. The final deadline for lodging your claim is three months from the date of the accident, but if it’s been more than three months there are ways you can still claim compensation.

However, this application doesn’t cover the lump sum payments you might be entitled to – you need to apply for these separately. The table below summarises the amounts you may be able to claim.

Application Type	Entitlements Covered
Application for personal injury benefits	Lost income through time off work Treatment expenses Care expenses
Common law damages claim	Lump sum for future lost wages Lump sum for past lost wages* Lump sum for pain and suffering An amount for costs and disbursements

*For the gap between past losses to date and the amount already paid by the insurer as part of the benefits claim

Expert tip: to qualify for lump sum payments, your injuries need to be assessed as being ‘above threshold’. However, if the doctor who does your assessment isn’t familiar with CTP claims, they may leave out essential information without realising it. One small error could literally cost you tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Maoris never give up – Henry’s story.

Henry was sitting at the lights on his Harley when he was hit from behind by a car. He was seriously injured and frustrated that he couldn’t support his family, but says reaching out for help changed his life.

How do I claim my full motorcycle accident compensation entitlements in NSW?

To claim your full entitlements you’ll need to get a thorough medical assessment that takes into account all of your injuries, no matter how trivial some of them may seem. However, the medical assessment alone isn’t enough to get you there – if you’re entitled to lump sum compensation, you’ll also need an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer to gather the evidence and take care of your lump sum claim.

The good news is, you can get a lawyer to work for you on a no win no fee basis, so you’ll only need to pay them if they win. There are also some situations where we can get the insurer to pay our legal fees, so there’s nothing for you to pay at all. Read on to learn more about this.

Expert tip: using a no win no fee lawyer can be a great way to get legal representation without paying anything upfront. However, not all no win no fee agreements are the same, and there are fee traps to beware of. Read our guide to no win no fee lawyers to learn more.

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What can a motorcycle accident lawyer do for me?

There are a few situations where having a motorcycle accident lawyer on your side could result in a much better outcome for you, and there are many situations where you can get your lawyer’s fees paid by the insurer.

Our motorcycle accident lawyers can help you with:

Free advice before you submit your claim. To get your full entitlements, it’s critical that your motorcycle injury claim is submitted correctly, and that your injuries are properly assessed on your certificate of fitness.
Help if you disagree with the insurer’s liability notice. If the insurer has classified your injuries as threshold (minor), but you disagree with the decision, we can review it for you and provide free legal advice on your options.
Claiming a lump sum settlement. If your injuries are above threshold and you weren’t at fault in the accident, it’s very likely you can claim a lump sum settlement, and these lump sums can be substantial. Our motorcycle accident lawyers are highly skilled at winning lump sum settlements, and we win over 99% of our cases.

The only way to claim your full entitlements is to present detailed evidence of the full impact of your injuries on your life. At Law Partners, we take time to get to know you and your family personally, to make sure all your injuries are considered, including any psychological injuries.

What’s the average payout for a motorcycle accident compensation claim?

According to SIRA (the State Insurance Regulatory Authority), in the 12 months to January 2024, there were 12,398 motor accident injury claims reported in NSW and $1.35 billion was paid out in benefits and lump sums. That’s $108,889 paid out for every new claim reported.*

The data for motorcycle accident claims isn’t reported separately, but since motorcycle accident injuries tend to be more serious, there’s a high likelihood that injured riders will have their injuries classified as ‘above threshold’ and qualify for lump sum payments. For this reason, it’s likely that motorcycle injury claim payouts are higher than the average across all claims.

*Based on SIRA Open Data, February 2024

How will my motorcycle accident compensation payout be determined?

The amount of motorcycle accident compensation you can claim depends on the circumstances of your accident and the extent of your injuries. Some cases settle for amounts as high as six or even seven figures. For an estimate of your motorcycle accident injury entitlements, you can use this compensation calculator.

The factors that will influence the final figure you receive include:

Your age
Whether you were responsible (fully or partly) for the accident
The extent of your injuries
Your level of “permanent impairment” (a scale used to assess your injuries)
Any financial losses (medical bills, wages, etc.) that you’ve suffered
Any care or help you’ve needed at home

Expert tip: remember, you’ll only receive your full entitlements if the full impact of your injuries on your life is taken into account, and all the details of your injuries are correctly documented in your medical assessment.

Who pays my medical costs if I’m injured in a motorcycle accident?

The CTP insurer of the vehicle that was mostly at fault in your accident will pay your medical costs. The following table summarises the compensation payout process for your medical, treatment, and care expenses as well as income support payments:

CTP Claim	CTP Compensation Payout Process
Medical and treatment expenses	Your GP will provide the insurer with a treatment referral CTP insurer will generally approve a number of sessions with your GP and other treatment providers CTP insurer will generally write directly to your provider and notify them of the approval CTP insurer will pay the GP or treatment provider directly – these expenses won’t form part of your regular payments Benefits are capped depending on the severity of your injuries You should receive whatever treatment is necessary to make sure you recover from your injuries
Care expenses	Generally treated in the same way as medical and treatment expenses
Income support payments	Weeks 1-13: 95% of pre-accident earnings Weeks 14 – 26: 80-85% of pre-accident earnings. If the CTP insurer cuts off your benefits it will need to give you four weeks’ written notice. Beyond week 52 you can only receive benefits if you weren’t mostly at fault for the accident and your injuries have been assessed as above threshold

How do you get a motorcycle accident lawyer to help you for free?

For CTP claims in NSW, lawyers’ fees are regulated. Lawyers can’t charge to help you lodge your application for personal injury benefits. But if you’re disputing a CTP insurer’s decision, then for most disputes you can engage a lawyer at no cost to you.

There are two types of disputes – paid disputes and unpaid disputes.

A paid dispute is a dispute that a car accident lawyer can charge for, and the fees are fixed.
Your lawyer will generally earn $1,919* for the dispute. There are legislative restrictions and maximum limits that apply to each claim.
You won’t have to pay anything to have a lawyer assist you with a paid dispute – these fees are paid by the insurer.

If a lawyer helps you with an unpaid dispute, they must do it free of charge.

*As of November 2023

To find out how much you can claim or to get free legal advice on your claim, speak to a motorcycle accident lawyer at Law Partners today.

Tanja Maksimovic

Managing Solicitor

An accredited specialist in personal injury law, backed by over 10 years’ experience in assisting injured Australians receive everything they’re entitled to with their motor accident claim.