Often, people give consideration to pursuing a Motor Vehicle claim without the assistance of a Lawyer. This may be because Lawyer’s services are thought to be too expensive, a dislike of Lawyers from past experiences or because a Law Firm/s has refused to pursue a matter for someone.
The pursuit of a Compulsory Third Party (“CTP”) Motor Vehicle Damages Claim in Queensland is governed by the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 (Qld) and in New South Wales as at the date of this article by the Motor Accidents Injuries Act 2017 (NSW). Without delving into any detail, both legislations are different but do contain sections which may assist people pursuing their own claims.
New South Wales (“NSW”) has a “no-fault” statutory scheme, which enables Driver’s (even if they are at Fault) to pursue a statutory claim. In Queensland (“QLD”), a person can only pursue a CTP claim if the other person was at fault. For this article, we will presume a Driver was not at fault (and therefore may pursue a claim in NSW or QLD, dependant upon where the accident occurred).
In either NSW or QLD, a Driver who sustains injuries and independently pursues a Motor Vehicle Claim (without legal assistance), will deal directly with an insurance company. That insurance company will have extensive experience in dealing with these claims.
In either NSW or QLD, the insurance company will likely have you medically assessed. Those medical professionals are arguably proposed by the insurance companies as the insurance company knows that they write conservative reports, which generally support a lesser payment to the person.
In both NSW and QLD there are restrictions as to the legal fees charged by Legal Practitioners to client’s.
Why would I engage a Lawyer?
The benefits to engaging a Lawyer to pursue a Motor Vehicle Claim include:
- Getting advice regarding a relatively complex area of law to ensure you recover the full amount of damages you are entitled to;
- Ensuring that, if needed, the appropriate medical and other evidence is obtained to secure the best amount of damages for you;
- Ensuring compliance with Time Limitations under the NSW or QLD Legislation;
- You will have someone on your side working for you. Insurance companies have extensive experience in mitigating their loss so it is smart to have someone on your side. So should you.
If you have been in a Motor Vehicle accident in either NSW or QLD and would like to discuss your matter with a Lawyer, please contact our Car Accident Lawyer in gold coast Principal Lachlan Main for a free first consultation discussion on 1800 314 761 or 0421 556 766