Personal Injury Claims

Disclaimer: This information sheet is for education purposes only. Please consult with your doctor or other health professional to make sure this information is right for your child.

What is a Compulsory Third Party Claim?

If your child has been involved in a motor vehicle accident in any way, you may be eligible to make a claim on his/her behalf with the NSW Compulsory Third Party (CTP) Insurance Scheme.

If your child was injured in a motor vehicle accident as passenger, pedestrian or cyclist you can make a claim for personal injury compensation if you consider a driver or owner of a motor vehicle was partially or completely at fault.

Why Lodge a Claim?

Although the Third Party compensation process may take many years, it is important to make a claim as early as possible. This allows the Brain Injury Service to plan for appropriate services and equipment, particularly when your child is discharged. These might include therapy costs and/or costs incurred by you to take your child to therapy (time off work and travel). The CTP insurer may also pay for other services such as respite care or teacher aide assistance. It is important to note that the service you will receive the same service from the Brain Injury Service whether or not there is a CTP claim.

How to Lodge a Claim

The Brain Injury Team can assist you in lodging a claim. The claim form is available from either the Brain Injury Team (Doctor or Social Worker), a solicitor, the insurance company of the vehicle at fault or the Motor Accidents Authority (MAA) visit www.maa.nsw.gov.au. It is advisable to consult a solicitor to assist with lodging a claim. However, it is possible to lodge a claim without a solicitor. The Motor Accidents Authority is the organisation responsible for overseeing insurance companies and the claims process.

What to do if there are concerns about the claims process

The insurance company will allocate a rehabilitation advisor. The Brain Injury Service may also allocate a Case Manager who can liaise with the insurance company (see Case Management Service for more details). If no Case Manager is allocated, then other members of the Brain Injury Team can liaise with the insurance company on your behalf.

The MAA has guidelines in place to help resolve any difficulties. There is also a Medical Assessment Service and Claims Resolution Service within the MAA to assist with resolution of claim difficulties. Information about the MAA is available on their website.

Public Liability Claims

There may also be Public Liability compensation depending on the circumstances of your child's accident. The Brain Injury Team will be able to discuss this with you. We recommend that you consult a solicitor.

How do I find a Solicitor?

The Law Society of NSW can provide names of solicitors who specialise in Personal Injury law. The Law Society can be contacted on Ph (02) 9373 7300 or visit www.lawsocnsw.asn.au. For more information, please refer to Information Sheet Finding a Solicitor.

Rehabilitation Department The Children's Hospital at Westmead Cnr Hawkesbury Rd & Hainsworth St, Westmead Locked Bag 4001, Westmead, 2145 Tel: (02) 9845 2132 - Fax: (02) 9845 0685 http://www.chw.edu.au/rehabilitation/