Melbourne Car Accident Lawyers - Injury Compensation Claims VIC

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If you would like legal advice on how to make a claim for personal injury compensation for a car accident, contact Melbourne Car Accident Lawyers. Our legal team can provide advice over the phone, and No Win No Fee legal representation. To discuss your specific case, call our free helpline or complete the online contact form. This is an obligation-free service.

Most of us will be involved in a road accident at some stage in our life and many of us will be injured, but if you live in the state of Victoria you can be thankful that you may be entitled to compensation and benefits, even if the accident was your fault. Funded by the registration on vehicles, the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) pays out benefits and payments on a variety of different services after an accident.

Should the TAC accept your claim for compensation, then a wide range of different benefits are potentially available to you. The most common of these is medical services, but services for rehabilitation, disability, household help and childcare, travel and even death benefits are included in the compensation system.

Every Melbourne car accident case is handled and decided on an individual basis, and you will find that according to your accident and injuries that different benefits and payments will be available to you.

Accident Coverage

The TAC compensation scheme doesn’t just cover accidents for car drivers and passengers but covers a whole range of different circumstances, including accidents on trams or trains, accidents involving cyclists and motorbike riders and even pedestrians. As long as your accident was transport related, then you may find yourself able to access TAC compensation.

Accident Compensation

There are various types of compensation available following a Melbourne car accident, with the most common being medical expenses, which are of course often the greatest cost involved after any personal injury accident. The TAC is able to provide full or part payment for a wide range of medical costs involved in your treatment.

The first of these is ambulance services – the cost of getting you to a hospital from an accident or the cost of transferring you between hospitals during your treatment. After your discharge from hospital, or should you not need hospital, the TAC can still pay for trips to your family doctor or a specialist doctor, as well as home nursing visits should they be required.

After an accident many people with injuries require physiotherapy or other therapeutic services such as osteopathy or psychiatric help, which can be paid for by the TAC. This is also the case should you require prescribed drugs as a result of your accident provided by a pharmacy, as long as they are required for your recovery they are covered by the TAC.

Help can also be given to cope with dental damage and the restoration of dental work after an accident, as well as the repair or replacement of such artificial aids as glasses and hearing aids.

If your income is affected by an inability to work as a result of an accident, then various payments should be payable to you. If you are only able to work for a short period of time, then the TAC can pay you income support which can keep you going while you undergo any necessary rehabilitation or disability based return to work programs to get you back to work. If you are unable to work at all as a result of your accident injury, then earning capacity benefits can be paid to compensate for the fact that you are no longer fit or able to work.

The TAC can also help with travelling costs, particularly in cases where you need to travel to appointments as a result of your injuries. Payments can also be made to eligible students for school travel. Payments can be made for travel by private car or public transport, and in exceptional circumstances by taxi.

Help may also be forthcoming for childcare and support around the house for those in need. Those who are unable to clean or look after their house may be eligible to receive help and support for cleaning, gardening, vacuuming and other basic tasks, and those who need help with childcare while attending hospital appointments may have a carer funded by the TAC to help them with this necessary cost.

In the case of death, the TAC may be able to help with funeral costs for burials and cremations, and also with financial support for dependents as well as moral support for dependents with access to counselling services. As with many payments, this may depend on the personal circumstances of the family involved.

Melbourne TAC Lawyers

In many ways, dealing with the TAC is like dealing with an insurer. The problem with this is that they may not always have their best interests at heart, and although they may not be trying to actively get out of the obligations set down in legislation, the fact is that the legislation regarding the TAC can be very complicated and labyrinthine. In these cases, the help of a lawyer who specialises in TAC claims can be vital.

A Melbourne car accident lawyer will have the advantage of having a deeper knowledge of the legislation and regulation regarding the TAC as well as how that applies to your particular case. They can ensure that your best interests are put at the centre of the application as well as making sure that you are aware of all of your legal entitlements with regard to benefits and payments.

When a lawyer can be particularly valuable is when the TAC turns down your claim, whether in full or in part. If this is the case then the lawyer will have expert knowledge as to why your claim was rejected as well as helping you with any grounds for appeal.

Car Accident Fault

Whether or not the accident was your fault, you will have access to certain benefits and payments, so whatever the case it is worth making a claim to the TAC. If the accident was your fault, then you will only have access to limited “No Fault” benefits, such as access to medical expenses, loss of earnings and compensation for injuries.

If the accident was not your fault, and if your injuries were serious enough, then you may be entitled to make a claim for what is known as Common law compensation. In such cases it is advisable to take the advice of a specialist Melbourne car accident lawyer in order to proceed. Common law compensation is intended to cover damages for economic loss as a result of your injuries, and non-economic loss such as pain and suffering.

Time Limits in Victoria

Your initial claim to the TAC should be within 12 months of the accident. In exceptional circumstances you can apply within 3 years, but really you should apply as soon as possible.

If you wish to apply for Common law compensation, you must apply within 6 years of the date of the accident. If you have suffered a permanent injury and wish to apply for impairment benefits, this also must be done within 6 years of the date of the accident.

If you wish to appeal a decision of the TAC, then you must do so within 12 months of the date of the TAC decision, and it would be advisable to do so with the help of a Melbourne car accident lawyer.

Although time limits can be extended in exceptional circumstances, you should not presume that your circumstances are exceptional (they are probably not) and you must apply on time. Therefore you should seek legal advice as soon as possible.