Serious Injury Claims

Some injuries change everything. When the harm suffered is severe, permanent, and life-altering, the compensation available reflects that, and getting specialist legal advice becomes not just useful but essential.

Serious injury claims occupy a distinct category within NSW personal injury law. They involve injuries of such severity that they trigger additional entitlements beyond the standard benefits available under the workers compensation or CTP schemes, including access to common law damages for pain and suffering and future economic loss. The threshold for what constitutes a serious injury varies between schemes, but the principle is consistent: where the impact on a person’s life is profound and permanent, the law provides a more substantial remedy.

Who Can Claim

You may be eligible to make a serious injury claim if you have suffered severe and permanent harm as a result of:

A catastrophic motor vehicle accident causing spinal injury, brain injury, limb loss, or severe burns
A serious workplace accident causing permanent disability or significant loss of function
Medical negligence resulting in permanent and life-altering harm
A public liability incident causing severe physical or psychological injury
Any other incident caused by another party’s negligence that has resulted in permanent and significant impairment

Serious injury claims may involve spinal cord injuries and paralysis, acquired brain injuries, amputations and limb loss, severe burns, catastrophic orthopaedic injuries, and serious psychological conditions arising from traumatic events.

How a Claim Works in NSW

Serious injury claims draw on multiple legal frameworks depending on the circumstances, and often involve pursuing entitlements across more than one scheme simultaneously.

Under the NSW CTP scheme, claimants with injuries that meet the whole person impairment threshold are entitled to make a claim for non-economic loss. Those with the most severe injuries may also be entitled to make a common law damages claim for past and future economic loss and care needs.

Under the NSW workers compensation scheme, workers with serious injuries may be entitled to significant lump sum permanent impairment payments and, where employer negligence is established, work injury damages through a common law claim.

In public liability and medical negligence contexts, serious injury claims are pursued as common law negligence claims through the NSW court system, with damages assessed according to the Civil Liability Act 2002.

Obtain legal advice as early as possible. The decisions made in the early stages of a serious injury claim can significantly affect the ultimate outcome.
Ensure all treating specialists are providing comprehensive reports that document the full nature and prognosis of your injuries.
Engage rehabilitation and care experts to assess your ongoing and future needs.
Pursue immediate entitlements under the relevant scheme while the longer term claim is being built.
Pursue lump sum and common law compensation once your condition has sufficiently stabilised for assessment.

Why You Might Want a Specialist Lawyer

Serious injury claims involve large amounts of money, which means they are defended hard by insurers and their legal teams. The evidence required is extensive, the expert witnesses are numerous, and the legal arguments are complex. We bring the full weight of our specialist expertise to every serious injury claim, including:

Coordinating medical, rehabilitation, care, and economic expert evidence across all aspects of your claim
Identifying every available avenue of compensation across multiple schemes where applicable
Ensuring your claim captures future losses, including care costs, home modification needs, and lost earning capacity over a lifetime
Negotiating aggressively on your behalf and pursuing litigation where the insurer’s offer does not reflect the true value of your claim

What Compensation Could You Receive?

Serious injury claims can involve the largest compensation amounts available under NSW personal injury law. Depending on the nature of your injuries and the circumstances, you may be entitled to:

Compensation for pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life
Past and future medical and rehabilitation expenses
The full cost of past and future care, including professional and family care
Compensation for past and future loss of income and earning capacity
Home and vehicle modification costs
Aids, equipment, and assistive technology costs
In the most severe cases, lifetime care and support packages

FAQ

My injuries are severe but my condition is still changing. Should I wait before making a claim?

Not necessarily. Immediate entitlements, including weekly benefits, medical expenses, and interim care support, should be pursued as early as possible. The timing of a lump sum or common law claim is a separate question that depends on when your condition has stabilised sufficiently for accurate assessment. We will advise you on the right approach for each stage.

I have been told I will never work again. How is future economic loss calculated?

Future economic loss in a serious injury claim is calculated by reference to your pre-injury earnings, your likely career trajectory, the number of working years lost, and a range of other factors including career progression and superannuation contributions. Economic experts are typically engaged to prepare detailed reports supporting this component of the claim. The amounts can be substantial, particularly for younger claimants.

Can I claim for the impact on my family as well as myself?

The direct impact on you forms the core of your claim, but certain losses affecting your family are also recoverable. These include the cost of care provided by family members, compensation for loss of domestic services you can no longer perform, and in some cases compensation for family members who have suffered psychological injury as a result of witnessing your accident or its aftermath.