Paul is injured in a motor vehicle accident in Coffs Harbour. He receives significant injuries including a fracture to his right thigh and an injury to his right knee.
Unfortunately, Paul needed some significant treatment after the accident including a period of 14 days in hospital and he does not think about any claim that he might have for personal injury until about 3 months after the accident when he seeks advice from his solicitor.
He is advised that he has a claim for personal injury as the other driver was responsible for the accident or at the very worst the other driver was partially responsible for the accident. Paul is informed that this claim is made against the other driver and the claim is processed by the other driver’s compulsory third party insurer.
Paul is informed by his solicitor that it is not necessary to report the accident to the Police again because they attended the scene but it is necessary to make a claim within 6 months of the date of accident. This means preparing a claim form and serving it on the compulsory third party insurer of the other driver.
Fortunately Paul has sufficient time for the claim form to be served and does not have to provide a “full and satisfactory” explanation for delay.
Paul is advised that damages relating to his claim are broken up into various components which include medical expenses, loss of income in the past and the future, domestic assistance in the past and in the future and non-economic loss. Non-economic loss is a claim for pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life that is available if Paul’s level of impairment is more than 10% whole person impairment which can only be assessed once Paul’s injuries have stabilized.
Paul’s solicitor also advises him that his claim will normally be resolved through an “informal” assessment process. If however, there is a denial of liability by the compulsory third part insurer, Paul will need to commence court proceedings within 3 years from the date of the accident.
