Road Accident Injury Claims – Your Rights Explained

If you’ve been injured in an accident on the road due to the negligence of another driver or road user, your rights and entitlements are as follows:-

1. You are entitled to lodge a Notice of Accident Claim Form (“the claim form”) to the Compulsory Third Party Insurer of the vehicle at fault;
2. The claim form needs to be submitted to the CTP Insurer of the vehicle at fault within 9 months of the accident or within 1 month of your first consultation with a motor vehicle compensation lawyer regarding the claim – whichever date expires first;
3. Most vehicles in Queensland are insured for CTP claims by Suncorp Insurance, Allianz and RACQ;
4. If the accident was caused by an unidentified or uninsured vehicle, the claim form needs to be lodged with a government body called the Nominal Defendant within 3 months of the date of the accident or within 1 month of your first consultation with a lawyer. If the three month time limit has expired, the claim needs to be lodged within 9 months but with a reasonable excuse for delay;
5. You have three years from the date of accident/injury to commence court proceedings. If court proceedings are not commenced within 3 years of the date of accident/injury, your right to seek and recover compensation or damages for your injuries will be lost forever. Not all claims require court proceedings. Many claims are able to be settled or resolved prior to commencing court proceedings;
6. If a child is injured, a parent or guardian can pursue a claim for the child or the child has up to the age of 21 to pursue the claim;
7. If an injured person has suffered a brain injury or has lost capacity due to the accident, a family member or friend can act as their legal or litigation guardian to help them recover compensation or damages;
8. If your injuries are major or serious and your home or unit requires modification, funding for the home modification can be obtain from the CTP insurer and you don’t need to wait until the end of the claim for the home modifications to be funded;
9. After lodging the claim form and once accepted, you are entitled to seek funding from the CTP insurer for your injury related medical and rehabilitation expenses;
10. If the accident occurred going to or from work, you are also entitled to receive benefits and assistance from your workers’ compensation insurer which is usually WorkCover Queensland;
11. The CTP insurer is required to make a decision about liability or negligence within 6 months of the claim form being lodged;
12. You are entitled to recover damages or compensation for your pain and suffering, any and all out of pocket expenses, lost wages or income, future loss of wages or income, past and future loss of superannuation benefits, future medical treatment and past and future care and assistance for services provided to you by family members and friends due to your injuries;
13. If your compensation or damages outcome is equal to or more than $71,731.00, you are entitled to recover a meaningful contribution towards your legal costs which we generally find results in something like 50% or more of your legal bill being paid by the CTP Insurer;
14. The statistics published by the Motor Accident Insurance Commission show that the average settlement for people who are legally represented is about $88,000.00 whereas people who are not legally represented achieve an average settlement amount which is less than $10,000.00;
15. In our experience, most cases are able to be resolved within 12 to 18 months from the date of the accident, however, if the injuries are minor, many smaller claims are able to be resolved within 3 to 6 months from the date of the accident;
16. At vbr Lawyers, we offer a 30% fee cap on our professional costs so that you achieve or receive more from your settlement unlike almost all of our competitors;
17. At vbr Lawyers do not charge a 25% uplift on our professional costs due to acting on a “No Win – No Fee” basis unlike almost all of our competitors;
18. At vbr Lawyers, all of our clients are represented by a senior lawyer from vbr WorkCover Workers’ Compensation Lawyers from start to finish unlike almost all of our competitors