You can lodge your own claim without using a lawyer. However, it’s important to understand that if you leave out important details in your application, or if your certificate of fitness isn’t completed correctly, it’s likely you’ll miss out on benefits you’re entitled to. Our vehicle accident lawyers can help you claim everything you’re entitled to, and we’ll provide free advice over the phone.

Here are three ways our lawyers can help you with your motor accident injury claim:

1. Give you free advice before you submit your claim. It’s critical that your application is filled out correctly, and that your injuries are properly assessed by your GP on your certificate of fitness. Many GPs aren’t aware that a simple omission can result in your injuries being incorrectly classified as minor, which means your benefits will be significantly lower than they should be.

2. Help you if you disagree with the assessment on your liability notice. If the insurer has classified your injuries as minor, but you disagree with the decision, we can review it for you and provide free legal advice on your options.

3. Help you claim a lump sum settlement. If your injuries are non-minor 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 motor vehicle accident lawyers are highly skilled at winning lump sum settlements, and we win over 99% of our cases.

We work on a no win no fee, no disbursements basis, so you’ll only need to pay us if we win, and you receive your motor accident compensation. There are also some situations where we can get your legal fees paid by the CTP insurer.

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.

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

Once you submit your claim for motor accident compensation it will be reviewed by the CTP insurer of the at-fault vehicle, which must send you a letter within one month to tell you if it’s accepting or denying the claim. If it accepts the claim, the insurer will then start making fortnightly payments to you.

The CTP insurer will 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’s at fault for the accident.

If your motor accident injury 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.
• In limited circumstances, 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 the 12 months to May 2021 there were 11,016 motor accident injury claims submitted in NSW and $466M was paid out in benefits and lump sums.*

The amount of motor accident compensation that you can claim depends on the extent of your injuries, which will be classified as ‘minor’ or ‘non-minor’. The following table outlines the difference:

It’s important to remember that compensation after a car accident also depends on the extent of your losses (such as lost income). Here’s a summary of car accident compensation entitlements:

To get an estimate of your car accident compensation NSW entitlements you can use this compensation calculator.

*Based on SIRA Open Data, May 2021.

In NSW, lump sum motor accident injury claim 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 motor vehicle accident compensation benefits are being cut off by the CTP insurer, there could be a few reasons why:

• The insurer has determined that you’re no longer entitled to receive benefits as you’re capable of returning to work or your injuries have resolved.
• Your injuries were assessed as minor, and you’ve reached the six-month limit for personal injury benefits.
• Your injuries were assessed as non-minor, and you’ve reached the maximum weekly payment period.

There are two steps you can take to dispute an insurer’s decision to cut off your benefits:

1. Request an Insurer Internal Review (IRR)

If you request an IIR, it means you disagree with the insurer’s decision to reduce or cut off your benefits and you’re asking them to review your case file again. The letter you receive from the insurer will outline their reasons for cutting you off. You need to address each one of these reasons in your request for an IIR.

2. Escalate the dispute to the Personal Injury Commission (PIC)

You must request an IIR before you can take your matter to PIC. The PIC will assist in one of two ways:

• Facilitate the understanding of issues between insurer and injured persons to mutually resolve these disputes.
• Arrange an independent and binding decision by an expert assessor.