If you’ve ever been involved in a motor vehicle accident that was not your fault, you may be entitled to compensation.

Eligibility for compensation

When making a claim under the Compulsory Third Party Insurance Scheme (“CTP Scheme”), there are various types of compensation that you may be entitled to claim, depending on whether you meet the Injury Scale Value thresholds.

The CTP Scheme requires injuries to be assessed on a scale of one to 100, and a score assigned to an injury is called an Injury Scale Value (“ISV”).

The ISV for your dominant injury — the most severe injury — will likely determine whether your claim meets the ISV thresholds, and therefore what type of compensation you are entitled to claim.

In order to claim future economic loss, you will need to have an ISV of eight or more points.

An ISV of 11 or more points is needed to claim non-economic loss (pain and suffering), past gratuitous services (assistance provided to you by a parent, spouse or child as a result of the accident) and loss of consortium (impact of your accident-related injuries on your relationship).

There are no ISV thresholds to claim compensation for past economic loss, future paid care and assistance, and past and future medical expenses.

There are five types of compensation you may be entitled to. 

Non-economic loss (pain and suffering)

Non-economic loss includes any physical suffering and mental distress suffered as a result of injuries sustained in the accident, loss of amenities of life, loss of enjoyment of life and disfigurement.

If you reach the ISV threshold of 11 points, then you can receive a compensation payment commensurate with your ISV number. The higher the number, the more compensation you can expect.

Economic loss

If you have lost income as a result of injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident, you may have a claim for past economic loss and future loss of income, or loss of earning capacity.

In order to make a claim for economic loss, you will need to provide evidence of your earnings, which may include your income taxation returns and pay slips. 

If you were not working at the time of the accident, you may still have a claim for future economic loss or loss of earning capacity.

You may also be entitled to claim for loss of superannuation on any amount claimed for economic loss.

There are limitations on the amount of compensation that can be claimed for economic loss, pursuant to legislation.

Care and Assistance

Past voluntary assistance with domestic activities or self care activities

You may be entitled to claim compensation for past gratuitous services if: 

• you reach the threshold of 11 ISV points; and
• your spouse, domestic partner, parent or child has provided you with six hours of assistance per week for a minimum of six consecutive months.

Voluntary services include assistance with domestic tasks such as cleaning, cooking and gardening, as well as personal care assistance like dressing and showering.

Future assistance

If you are no longer able to perform domestic tasks due to your accident-related injuries, you may also make a claim for paid assistance in the future.

Treatment expenses

You may claim any reasonable out of pocket expenses in relation to the treatment of your injuries up to the date of settlement.

You may also claim any future treatment costs, such as anticipated surgery, ongoing physiotherapy or medication costs, in relation to your accident-related injuries.

Loss of consortium

If you reach the ISV threshold of 11 points and your accident-related injuries have impacted on your relationship with your spouse or domestic partner, you may have a claim for loss of consortium. 

Loss of consortium refers to the loss or impairment of comfort and companionship provided to your spouse or partner as a result of your injuries.

How much compensation will I receive?

The amount of compensation you receive will depend on the severity of your injuries and the impact of those injuries on your life.

If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident, having the assistance of a lawyer would likely maximise your claim for compensation under each of the heads of damages discussed above.

If you would like to receive legal assistance in relation to a motor vehicle accident claim, contact DBH Lawyers today.