It can happen in a split-second, but its aftermath can last a lifetime. That’s why it’s important to know whether you’re entitled to motor accident compensation. That’s where we come in.
And no matter how severe your injuries, compensation can make all the difference to your recovery.
Then, we recommend that you get in touch with us, even if you partially caused the accident. We’ll work out whether you can make an insurance claim for motor accident compensation against the compulsory third party (CTP) insurer (even if you are partially at fault for the accident). In South Australia, all registered motor vehicles must have CTP insurance.
There’s a time limit of six months to lodge an accident report and injury claim form. If your loved one died in a motor accident, you could claim for the loss of that person’s income or assistance at home.
You’ll need to know what compensation you’re entitled to claim. We can help you. Some categories of compensation have limits while others have discounts. It’s also necessary to work out who was responsible for the accident, as this will affect the amount of compensation. For example, if the accident wasn’t your fault, the compensation payment may be more than if you were partially at fault for the accident.
The insurer may make you an offer soon after you’ve lodged your claim, but this is often a minimal amount.
That’s why it’s essential that you have legal advice before you accept any offer, especially if the extent of your injuries isn’t fully known. You don’t know what your future expenses will be until your injuries settle.
We’ve acted for many clients who have won pay-outs that are tens of thousands of dollars more than the settlement amount initially offered by the insurer. And we can help you too. Let us worry about the claim while you focus on your recovery.
That means we don’t charge legal fees for the time spent by our staff working on your claim. Usually, the insurer will pay a significant contribution to your legal expenses.
We will reduce our fees to make sure you receive a fair amount of compensation, so long as we remain your solicitors, and so long as you have been up-front with us about every part of your case.
You may need to pay for your own disbursements, which are out of pocket expenses. For example, fees for medical reports and photocopying expenses. You may be eligible for disbursement funding, and we’ll help you sort this out. Just ask us how.
There are some key dates. For example:
You have three years from the date of the accident to settle with the insurer. If the claim is not settled within that time frame you must issue legal proceedings at the relevant Court to ensure that your claim does not go out of time. In accordance with the Court Rules, the parties are encourage to reach a settlement prior to your matter proceeding to trial even after proceedings have been filed.
MAC is the Motor Accident Commission of South Australia.
It was responsible for CTP insurance claims for accidents that occurred before 1 July 2016. CTP insurance is now the responsibility of insurers. MAC continues to be responsible for road safety education, research and projects but no longer has an insurance division for more recent claims. If your accident was before 1 July 2016, MAC will be the insurer responsible for your claim. From 1 July 2019 MAC ceased to exist.
From 1 July 2016, four insurers have taken over CTP insurance in South Australia: Allianz, AAMI, QBE and SGIC. Every driver with CTP insurance is allocated an insurer.
Your vehicle registration papers include the name of your allocated insurer. You can also contact the CTP Personal Injury Helpline on 1300 303 558 for more information.
Each State and Territory has laws about motor accident compensation. The laws of the State or Territory in which the accident occurred will apply to your claim, and they may be different from South Australian laws, including how much you can claim and for what. We have excellent legal contacts throughout Australia and can help you find a lawyer in any State or Territory.
The other person’s negligence or partial negligence must have caused the accident. This means that they failed to take reasonable care when they had an obligation to do so.
You must also have evidence of your injuries and expenses; for example, doctors’ reports, receipts for medical invoices, x-rays and photographs. We’ll tell you what documents we need to work out whether negligence caused the accident.
Yes, you can, although CTP insurance only covers personal injuries. Property damage includes damage to your vehicle, a wrecked bike and damage to a truck’s load. You’ll need to make a property damage claim under a separate insurance policy.
It’s best to swap insurance details with other people at the scene of the accident, but failing that, contact your insurer with the other party’s vehicle registration number so they can track down the details. If the other party doesn’t have a separate insurance policy, speak to your insurer about claiming on your policy. If that appears unlikely, have a chat to us about other options.
There may be time limits that apply to claim compensation for property damage. We can discuss these with you.