In Queensland, if you were injured in a car accident (or any motor vehicle accident) and would like to make a compensation claim, you need to send a claim form to the compulsory third party (CTP) Insurer of the vehicle that was negligent.
Even if you didn’t go to the hospital immediately after, you must report the car accident to the police and have your Doctor complete a medical certificate before you can make a compensation claim. This is because the claim is for injury, not whether you immediately sought medical attention. It will also be important to do a registration search, to identify the full name and address of the vehicle owner and the details of the CTP Insurer.
It will be very important to have medical reports clearly detailing the nature of your injury. Crucially, these reports will also help determine the impact of your injury, or injuries, on your ability to work and your need for care (if relevant).
This can be a very stressful process. However, if needed, your claim can be completed by an experienced car accident lawyer on a no win no fee basis.
How long do I have to make a claim?
If you decide to have a car accident lawyer act on your behalf, a Notice of Claim needs to be served one month from the date that instructions were given to the lawyer, or nine months after the accident (whichever is the earliest). The only exception to this timeframe is if the claim involves any unidentified vehicles. If you don’t know the details of the vehicle that injured you or their car is unregistered, then you need to lodge your claim with the Nominal Defendant. This is a statutory body created under the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 to compensate people injured by unidentified or uninsured vehicles. You will only have 3 months to make a claim in this scenario.
In the case of legal proceedings, you have three years from the date of the car accident to make a claim, unless the injured person was under 18 when the accident occurred. If the injured person was under 18 at the time of the car accident, they have until their 21st birthday to make a claim.
If you have been sustained an injury from a car accident, get in touch our team today. At Cairns Compensation Lawyers, our car accident lawyers work for you on a no win no fee basis.