What You Can Claim
Your compensation depends on the types of injuries you sustained and your
circumstances at the time of the accident. As far as possible, any form of
compensation is aimed at returning the person injured to their pre-injury
state. Your claim could be for economic loss and/or non-economic loss.
Economic loss
Economic loss includes:
reasonable and necessary hospital, medical, rehabilitation and
pharmaceutical expenses (past/future)
reasonable and necessary attendant care and respite care expenses
loss of income
loss of ability to earn income
other reasonable and necessary expenses and losses you suffer as a
result of your injuries.
You will need to show:
that the amount claimed is reasonable
receipts for expenses
that the treatment relates directly to the injuries and losses caused by
the accident.
Medical expenses
If the insurer accepts liability for your claim it will pay your reasonable
and necessary hospital, medical, rehabilitation and travel expenses. You
don't have to wait for the claim to be finalised for these expenses to be
paid. The insurer is obliged to pay these expenses on an 'as incurred' basis
only if they are reasonable and necessary, properly verified and relate to
the injuries from the motor vehicle accident. Original receipts or accounts
should be sent to the insurer and you should keep a copy of all these
documents.
The insurer cannot be expected to continue to pay accounts unless
improvement is evident. An insurer will look for therapeutic benefits in
assessing whether treatment will be reasonable and necessary, and hence, if
you cannot agree with the insurer on medical issues about past or future
treatment then the dispute can be referred to the Medical Assessment
Service.
Lost earnings
There is a limit to the amount that can be claimed for lost income which is
indexed annually on 1 October. The insurer will want evidence of any losses.
For past losses, they may want:
a letter or statement from your employer
tax returns
sick leave records
medical evidence to show that you were unfit for work because of the
injuries arising out of the accident (e.g. a doctor's certificate)
any other proof you have that you have suffered an actual loss of wages
if you were self-employed, they will want verification from your
accountant.
Give the insurer copies and keep any original documents.
Before you can be awarded an amount of damages for future lost earnings you
will have to establish that the claim is real and reasonable. You will have
to show that you would have had this earning capacity if not for the
accident. Payment is made for lost earnings when your claim is settled.
Non-economic loss
Non-economic loss (or general damages) is for the pain and suffering and
loss of enjoyment of life that you have experienced as a result of the
accident. While most people injured in motor vehicle accidents experience
some degree of pain and distress, there are limits on who can claim
compensation for non-economic loss and how much compensation they get. You
will only get non-economic loss damages if you have a whole-person permanent
impairment of more than 10 per cent as a result of your accident. Permanent
impairment is assessed according to the MAA Permanent Impairment Guidelines
(1 October 2007).
The permanent impairment arising from each injury is assessed separately.
The impairments arising from multiple physical injuries can be added
together to get more than 10 per cent but you can't add a physical and
psychological injury together to reach more than 10 per cent. If a person is
assessed at more than 10 per cent permanent impairment, damages may be
payable depending on the seriousness of the injury. Amounts which can be
awarded are indexed annually and are listed in the Indexation of Damages.
Summaries of cases (116kb) where non-economic loss damages have been
assessed by CARS provide an indication of the type of injuries and permanent
impairments that entitle claimants to non-economic loss damages.
Need help? For more information contact the Claims Advisory Service.
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