When a claim settles, the figure on the deed is the sum of several separate amounts, called heads of damage. Each has to be proved on its own evidence, and Queensland law treats some of them very differently from others. Knowing what the components are is the best protection against accepting an offer that has quietly left one out.
Key points
- Compensation is the sum of separate heads: general damages, past and future economic loss, treatment, care, and equipment.
- General damages in Queensland are fixed by the injury scale value (0–100) under the Civil Liability Act, not by a judge's discretion.
- Unpaid family care is only recoverable once it reaches six hours a week for six months; refunds to Medicare and others come off the top.
General damages: pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life
This is the amount for the injury itself: the pain, the limitation, the things you can no longer do. In Queensland it is not assessed by a judge's impression. The Civil Liability Act 2003 requires every injury to be given an injury scale value (ISV) between 0 and 100 using the tables in the Civil Liability Regulation 2025, and the dollar amount for each ISV is set by an indexation notice made under the Act each year. A minor soft-tissue injury sits at the bottom of the scale; a severe brain or spinal injury at the top. Where there is more than one injury, the dominant injury sets the starting range and the others can push the ISV higher.
For CTP and public liability claims this is the system. For workers' compensation damages claims, general damages are assessed under a similar table in the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Regulation.
Past economic loss
Income you have already lost because of the injury: wages, overtime, shifts, contract work, and the superannuation that would have been paid on it. It is proved with payslips, tax returns, employer letters and, for the self-employed, business records. Interest can be claimed on past loss.
Future economic loss
Often the largest component, and the hardest to prove. It is the income you are likely to lose from now until retirement because the injury has reduced your capacity to work: fewer hours, a lower-paid role, earlier retirement, or no work at all. Where a precise calculation is impossible, the court can award a global sum, but only if it is satisfied the injury has caused, or will cause, a real loss. The Civil Liability Act caps the weekly earnings that can be used in the calculation at three times Queensland average weekly earnings.
Medical and treatment expenses
Past treatment already paid for, and the cost of future treatment your doctors recommend: surgery, physiotherapy, psychology, medication, aids and equipment. Medicare and private health funds have a right to be repaid from the settlement for what they have already covered, which is why a claim carries refunds that are deducted before you receive the balance.
Care and assistance
Help you need with the things the injury stops you doing: personal care, housework, driving, garden and home maintenance. Paid care is claimable at cost. Unpaid care from family and friends is claimable too, but the Civil Liability Act sets a threshold: the care must be needed for at least six hours a week for at least six months before anything is recoverable. Keeping a diary of who helps and for how long is the evidence that meets it.
What is not usually recoverable
Damage to your car (a separate claim against the at-fault driver's property insurer, not a CTP claim). Exemplary or punitive damages, which the Civil Liability Act excludes in most injury claims. And, in a workers' compensation damages claim, the value of unpaid family care, which that Act does not allow.
Reductions
Two things reduce the total. Contributory negligence: if you were partly to blame, each head of damage is reduced by your share, and the Civil Liability Act presumes a reduction of at least 25 per cent where the injured person was intoxicated and the intoxication contributed. And refunds: amounts repayable to Medicare, Centrelink, WorkCover or a private insurer for what they have already paid.
Why this matters at settlement
An insurer's offer is a single number. Before accepting one, ask for it to be broken into these heads. If future economic loss or future care is missing or nominal, and the medical evidence says the injury is permanent, the offer is low. That comparison is the core of what a lawyer does at the compulsory conference, and it is the reason claims should not settle before the injury has stabilised and its lasting effect is known.
Frequently asked questions
How is pain and suffering calculated in Queensland? Each injury is given an injury scale value between 0 and 100 under the Civil Liability Regulation, and the dollar amount for that value is set each year by an indexation notice. The worse the lasting effect, the higher the value.
Can I claim for the help my family gives me after an injury? In CTP and public liability claims, yes, once the care is needed for at least six hours a week for at least six months. Workers' compensation damages claims do not allow it.
Why is my settlement less than the amount agreed? Refunds to Medicare, Centrelink, WorkCover or a health fund, plus fees and outlays under the costs agreement, are deducted before the balance is paid. You should know the net figure before you accept.
Sources
- Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld), ss 52 (exemplary damages), 54 (economic loss cap), 59 (gratuitous services threshold), 61–62 (general damages and ISV) — legislation.qld.gov.au
- Civil Liability Regulation 2025 (Qld), s 5 and schedules 2 to 5 (injury scale values) — legislation.qld.gov.au
- Civil Liability Indexation Notice, made each year under s 62 of the Civil Liability Act 2003 (dollar amounts for each injury scale value) — legislation.qld.gov.au
- Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld), s 47 (presumption of contributory negligence where intoxicated)
- Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld), s 308C (gratuitous services) — legislation.qld.gov.au
- Motor Accident Insurance Commission, Can I claim? — maic.qld.gov.au