What to do if you are injured in an uninsured car accident?
July 12, 2021Retirement on workers compensation
July 12, 2021You can make a claim for compensation if you were injured in a car collision accident that occurred on or after 1 December 2017, nder the Compulsory Third Party (CTP) scheme. The extent of the compensation will depend on the seriousness of your injury and whether you were fully at fault in the accident. However, you will not be eligible for compensation if you engaged in a serious driving offense in the accident in question, or you were at fault and driving an uninsured vehicle. If you were not the driver most at fault and your injuries are not minor, you are also entitled to make a claim for modified common law damages in order to receive lump sum payment.
Statutory benefits that
can be achievable from a car collision claim include income support payments,
medical expenses, funeral expenses, vocational rehabilitation, and compensation
for pain and suffering.
Income support payments
are awardable if you lost earnings as a result of the accident. The amount of
these weekly payments may be reduced after 26 weeks if you had contributor
negligence in the accident. Also, the payments will cease after 6 months if you
were wholly or mostly at fault or your injuries are soft tissue (minor)
injuries.
The CTP insurer may also pay your reasonable medical expenses including dental and pharmaceutical expenses, physiotherapy and home care. If your injury is a minor injury, support for medical expenses will end at the end of 26 weeks except for some circumstances.
If you were not the
driver most at fault and your injuries are not minor, you can also make a claim
for modified common law damages which deal with any economic loss, both past
and future including superannuation, that you suffered as a result of the
injuries sustained in the car collision. You may be able to claim lump sum
compensation for pain and suffering and the like if your injuries are assessed
as being greater than 10% whole person impairment.
How to make a claim for car collision compensation
For car collision accidents that occurred on or after 1 December 2017, you should first report the accident to the police. You should then commence the claim process within 3 months after the date of the accident by completing an Application for Personal Injury Benefits and getting your doctor to complete a Medical Certificate. Both documents should be submitted to the CTP insurer. This should ideally be done within 28 days so that you can receive statutory benefits from the date of the accident.
Our experienced car collision lawyers can guide through the process of making a claim for compensation after the accident, providing you with detailed information about your rights and CTP benefits. You can also gain advice on whether your case qualifies for making a claim for modified common law damages. Our expert lawyers also work on a no win no fee basis, which means you do not have to pay our legal fees unless we achieve your claim for compensation.
