Car accident and CTP lawyers in Brisbane

01

Who we act for in Brisbane and Queensland

We act for people injured in motor vehicle accidents in Brisbane and throughout Queensland: drivers, passengers, motorcyclists, cyclists, e-scooter riders and pedestrians, and families after a fatal accident, including claims against the Nominal Defendant where the vehicle was unidentified or uninsured. We can help at any stage, from the Notice of Accident Claim Form through to settlement. Our offices are in Eight Mile Plains and Brisbane City (by appointment), and we can meet at our office, at your home, or wherever you feel is most convenient, or by phone or video if you are elsewhere in Queensland. We act in English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka or Malay.

02

Who can claim

Anyone injured in a Queensland motor vehicle accident that someone else caused, in whole or in part. Passengers can claim even when the driver at fault was a friend or family member, because the claim goes to the insurer attached to the vehicle, and the driver pays nothing personally. Cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists claim in the same way. Where the accident was fatal, close family members can claim for their loss of financial support.

You do not need to know who was at fault before you call. Working that out from the police report, witnesses and dashcam footage is part of the claim, and being partly to blame reduces compensation rather than ending it.

03

The five stages of a CTP claim

Every claim follows the same path. Where you are on it decides what happens next.

1. Notice. We serve a Notice of Accident Claim on the insurer, with the police report and a medical certificate. The insurer must acknowledge it within 14 days and say within six months whether it accepts fault.
2. Treatment. Once fault is accepted, the insurer must fund reasonable rehabilitation while the claim runs. We push for this early, because getting better is the point.
3. Evidence. When your injury has stabilised, specialists assess its permanent effect on you. That assessment, and the records of what the injury has cost you, set the value of the claim.
4. Compulsory conference. Both sides sit down with a full picture and exchange final offers. Most claims settle here or shortly after.
5. Court, if it does not settle. Proceedings must be started within 60 days of the conference. Few claims get this far, but we prepare each one from the start as if it will, which is also how a claim is valued properly.

04

Time limits: the dates that decide a claim

9 months

from the accident, or from when symptoms first appeared, to give the insurer your Notice of Accident Claim

1 month

from your first consultation with a lawyer about the claim, if that comes sooner

3 years

from the accident to start court proceedings

The nine-month and one-month periods run together and the earlier one applies. A late notice can still be given with a reasonable excuse, but every month of delay makes that harder, and after the three-year limitation period a claim is generally lost for good. For a child, the three years runs from their 18th birthday, but the notice periods still apply. If the vehicle at fault was never identified, the notice period is far shorter: see below.

The accident must also have been reported to the police. If that has not happened yet, we deal with it as the first step.

05

Hit-and-run, stolen and uninsured: the Nominal Defendant

If the driver at fault cannot be identified, or the vehicle was unregistered or uninsured, the claim is made against the Nominal Defendant, a Queensland government body that stands in for the missing insurer. The claim works the same way, with one hard difference: for an unidentified vehicle, notice must be given within three months of the accident, and a notice given later than nine months cannot be accepted at all. Passengers in a stolen car, and people hit by one, are in the same position. If this is you, call now rather than waiting for the police to find the driver.

06

What compensation can cover

Compensation is worked out from your circumstances, not from a table. Depending on your injuries it can include:

1. Medical and treatment costs, past and future, including surgery, physiotherapy, psychology and medication.
2. Lost income while you recover, and reduced earning capacity if you cannot return to the same work, plus the superannuation on it.
3. Care and assistance, including help from family members where it exceeds the legal threshold.
4. Pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life, assessed under Queensland's injury scale.
5. Travel, equipment and home modifications where the injury requires them.

07

Partly at fault? You can still claim

Being partly to blame does not end a claim. Compensation is reduced by your share of responsibility rather than refused, and insurers routinely argue for a larger share than the facts support. No seatbelt, no helmet, a few drinks, or a phone in the hand are the usual arguments. We assess this candidly at the first meeting and, where a claim is worth pursuing, we contest the percentage.

08

Catastrophic injuries and NIISQ

People who suffer spinal cord injuries, serious brain injuries, amputations, severe burns or blindness in a Queensland motor accident are covered by the National Injury Insurance Scheme (NIISQ) for lifetime treatment and care, whoever was at fault. A CTP claim for other losses, including lost income and pain and suffering, may still be available alongside it, and the choice between the two pathways needs careful advice. We work through it with you and your family.

09

What you can hold us to

1. A free first consultation, by phone, Zoom, at our office or wherever suits you. We listen, tell you plainly whether you have a claim, and explain the road ahead in plain language.
2. Your lawyer, from the first call to the last. The person who takes your call serves the notice, deals with the insurer, arranges the medical evidence and sits beside you at the conference.
3. No win, no fee. Our professional fees are only payable if the claim succeeds. We fund the outlays needed to run it, and in most cases they are not payable if the claim is unsuccessful; the exceptions are in the costs agreement, explained in writing before you sign anything.
4. Answered within the hour, most of the time. Enquiries are answered on average within 30 minutes to an hour, including evenings and weekends, and always within one business day.
5. English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka or Malay, whichever you are most comfortable in.