You must make your motor accident claim within 28 days to be eligible for income loss from the date of the accident. The final claim lodgement date is 3 months from the accident, although this can be extended in certain circumstances.

Once you submit your claim it will be reviewed by the CTP insurer of the at-fault vehicle, who must send you a letter within four weeks to tell you if they’re accepting or denying the claim. Then the insurer will start making payments to you within 14 days if they accept the claim.

The CTP insurer will then send you a second liability decision within three months of your claim being lodged. This liability decision indicates whether your injuries have been classified as minor or non-minor and who is at fault for the accident.

If your motor accident claim is successful:

• You should receive 95% of your pre-accident earnings for the first 14 weeks
• Your payments will drop to 80-85% of your earnings after week 14
• Income benefits will stop at 26 weeks if you were the driver mostly at fault or your injuries are minor
• Treatment is available after 26 weeks even if your injuries are minor or you were at fault
• Income support stops at 24 months – to receive support beyond that, you’ll need to submit a separate application for a lump sum (an Application for Damages under Common Law)

In NSW, lump sum motor accident injury payouts (common law damages) are available to people with non-minor injuries who are not at fault.

• Lump sum payouts for non-minor physical injuries are for more serious injuries like fractures. They also include nerve injuries, injuries that require surgery, brain injuries and scarring.
• Lump sum payouts for non-minor psychological or psychiatric injuries cover diagnosed psychological or psychiatric illnesses such as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as a range of others.

If your claim is rejected you can dispute the CTP insurer’s decision. We can raise a dispute for you and in most cases there’s no cost to you – the CTP insurer pays our fees.

It’s possible to lodge your own claim without using a lawyer. However, it’s important to understand that if you leave out important details in your application it can significantly reduce the benefits you’ll receive. Our motor accident lawyers can advise you on how to make sure you claim everything you’re entitled to and we’ll provide free advice over the phone.

Here are some ways our motor accident lawyers can help you:

• Make sure your injuries have been assessed correctly and you’re receiving your full entitlements. If you’ve been assessed as having minor injuries, your benefits will be cut off after a maximum of six months and you won’t be able to claim lump sum compensation. However, it’s possible that your injuries have worsened over time or weren’t properly assessed in the first place, which would mean you’re missing out on benefits you’re entitled to. We can help you claim everything you’re entitled to by reviewing your claim and disputing it with the CTP insurer if you’re being under-paid.
• Tell you if you’re entitled to an additional lump sum payment. Many people who lodge an application for personal injury benefits may not know that they’re entitled to make a separate claim for a lump sum payment. We can assess your situation and tell you if you’re entitled to claim a lump sum.
• Lodge a dispute with the insurer on your behalf. If you disagree with an insurer’s decision on your claim, we can raise a dispute on your behalf and in most cases our fees are paid by the insurer.
• Make sure your income has been assessed correctly. We can help you understand if your income support benefits have been calculated correctly by the insurer. For example, if you had a period of no income in the 12 months prior to the accident, and the insurer averaged your income over 12 months, your income support payments would be too low.

We work on a no win no fee basis, so you’ll only need to pay our fees with we win. There are also many situations where we can get your legal fees paid by the CTP insurer.

If you’re disputing the insurer’s decision over your benefits, it’s important to understand there are two types of disputes – paid disputes and unpaid disputes.

A paid dispute is a dispute that a motor accident lawyer can charge for, and the fees are fixed.

• Your lawyer will earn generally $1,660 for each paid dispute to a maximum of $6,000 for each dispute category.
• 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.

Medical reports:

For some disputes you’ll need a medical report to provide supporting evidence – for example, if you’re disputing the definition of your injury as “minor”.

• The cost of the medical report will be covered by the insurer up to a set amount.
• For most reports the insurer will reimburse up to $1,600.
• If you don’t have a lawyer, you’ll be required to pay for these medical reports up front and then you’ll be reimbursed after the PIC (Personal Injury Commission) determination.
• We can arrange the report and cover the up-front expenses for you.

Lump sum claims:

If you’re applying for a lump sum, there’s a schedule of fixed fees a lawyer can be paid to assist you for claims up to $75,000.
These fees are paid by the insurer.

• If your settlement amount is greater than $75,000, we’ll provide you with a schedule of fees, set out in an agreement.
• This agreement is known as a “costs agreement”, and only applies to the amount we charge for your claim over the $75,000 threshold.
• The fixed fees still apply to the work we do for the first $75,000 of your claim and are still paid by the insurer.