Perth Car Accident Lawyers
Car Accidents Lawyers in Perth, Western Australia
Motor accidents, which includes car, truck, motorbike, forklift and pedestrian accidents has significant consequences to all parties involved. If you have been involved in a car accident which was not wholly your fault, and are injured as a result, you should know your entitlements to compensation. Our motor accidents lawyers who have conveniently located offices in Perth and surrounding suburbs are able to advise you in a free initial consultation.
- No Upfront Costs
- No Win No Fee
- 99% Success Rate
- Maximum Lump Sum Payout
All road users in Western Australia are required by law to have third-party insurance. The Insurance Commission of Western Australia (ICWA) is the compulsory third-party insurer for Western Australian drivers and registered vehicles. The ICWA is a statutory corporation and the only insurer that provides compulsory third-party insurance owned by the Western Australian Government.
Who can make a car accident claim?
If you have been injured in a car accident that was not wholly your fault, regardless whether you were the driver, passenger, cyclist or pedestrian you can make a claim. If you were not injured but were financially dependent on the person that was fatally injured from the car accident you can also make a claim. If you were at fault but your injuries are considered catastrophic injuries you can claim for treatment, care and support.
I have been involved in a car accident, what are my entitlements:
Medical expenses including travel expenses
Household domestic assistance expenses
Past and future loss of income/opportunity
Compensation for your pain and suffering
I have been injured in a car accident; how do I claim?
If you have been injured in a car accident that was not wholly your fault the following is the process on how to make a claim:
1. Report the motor accident via the Insurance Commission of Western Australia (ICWA) online portal. The online portal has questions regarding the details of the accident, the details of license plates of the vehicles involved in the accident and contact details of all parties involved in the accident. You will then be provided with a claims reference number that you can provide to your treatment providers to quote for payment of your treatment expenses.
2. Submit a Notice of Intention to Make a Claim Form as soon as practicable.
3. Negotiate a settlement with the ICWA in regards to how much compensation you are entitled to for your motor vehicle accident claim.
Frequently Asked Questions
The amount of compensation you can claim varies, because it is not the same amount for every claim. It depends on the extent of your injuries, loss, treatment you require and pain and suffering you have suffered as a result. There are four different entitlements, loss of income, treatment expenses, domestic care and pain and suffering. For pain and suffering compensation the maximum amount payable as at 1 July 2020 is $432,000. To claim pain and suffering compensation, the total general damages for other losses such as loss of income, treatment expenses, domestic care has to be more than $22,500. Factors such as your age, your pre-injury working capacity, intention and health also has an impact to the amount of compensation you can claim. To be eligible to claim you need to be found not mostly at fault. If the fault of the accident is not clear or if the driver at fault denies it was their fault, witness statements from eyewitnesses and police reports will be required to assist all parties in determining who was wholly or mostly at fault.
General damages is the compensation for loss of income, treatment expenses and domestic care. It is damages other than damages for pain and suffering compensation. It includes loss of income, loss of opportunity, treatment expenses and domestic care. Our car accident lawyers will be able to advise you on your entitlements to general damages and advise you on the best way to claim them for your claim. Our car accident lawyers operate on a No Win No Fee Policy.*
The resolution time for your motor vehicle accident claim may vary depending on many factors. Whilst we appreciate you want to resolve your claim as soon as possible, at the same time you do not want to resolve your claim without ensuring all losses and consequences, both past and future are taken into account. Each car accident has its own impacts on everyone differently and depending on the circumstances, the time it takes to resolve your claim varies. For example, if you need to have surgery our car accident lawyers would advise against resolving your claim until after the surgery to ensure its costs, consequences (if any) and impact are all taken into account in your claim. Other factors such as expectations also has an impact as to when your claim will resolve. For example, However, it usually takes an average of 1.5 years for our car accident lawyers to resolve claims for our clients who have not had surgery.
Yes, you need to be injured to make a car accident claim. Also, your injury in a car accident does not always mean you can claim compensation for personal injury or death. You need to prove that the accident was caused, in whole or in part, by the fault of the driver or owner of the motor vehicle involved.
It is important you understand that you have 3 years from the date of the accident to commence court proceedings, if necessary.
Yes, but the amount of compensation may be reduced depending on specific circumstances relating to how you were partly at fault.
Catastrophic injuries include spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, multiple amputations, severe burns, permanent traumatic blindness.
First of all, if you have been injured in an accident and want to claim compensation you are required to report the accident and injury via the ICWA’s Online Crash Reporting Facility. You will then be provided with a reference number you can use to claim treatment and travel expenses. Our car accident lawyers are senior lawyers who take pride in representing injured clients by collecting evidence in support of our client claims, liaising with doctors, third parties and the ICWA to achieve the best result for our clients in claiming compensation.
Whilst our lawyers will act in your best interests and are able to break down the law for you in language that you can understand, you need to be upfront and explain your circumstances to our car accident lawyers. Our car accident lawyers advise about what you need to do after the accident will be dependent on the information you provide and as such it is important you provide correct information. That will ensure the best advice that is in the best of your interests for your claim. You can reach our car accident lawyers throughout Western Australia, including the city centre, and eastern & western suburbs.
No. Our car accident lawyers operate on a No Win No Fee policy which means unless you win you do not pay our legal costs and disbursements out of pocket. You are only required to pay our legal costs and disbursements after you are successful in receiving compensation from the compensation monies. In our Free Initial Consultation our car accident lawyers, will advise you on how much our legal costs and disbursements will be as it depends on the work involved however it will be very clear and transparent. You will also be informed however that if your claim is required to be progressed to court and you are unsuccessful, you may be liable to pay the legal costs and disbursements of ICWA’s lawyers. Usually for you to lose in court it means that you were found to be wholly or mostly at fault. Given the financial risk we will of course advise you prior to commencing court proceedings of the risk in detail and will advise you our opinion depending on the specific circumstances of your claim.
No, you do not have to use a lawyer for your accident claim. We do however recommend you organise a free initial consultation with our car accident lawyers to ensure you understand your entitlements to compensation and how to claim them. You can then decide whether you want to use a car accident lawyer or not. Using a car accident lawyer is advantageous to your claim because we know what you are entitled to and what preparation, work and evidence needs to be gathered to support your claim.
Western Australia Car accident advertising restrictions
Due to Western Australia advertising restrictions, we are limited in what information we are able to disclose on our website regarding personal injury claims. However, you are able to contact our Western Australia personal injury lawyers who will provide you advice in our free initial consultation.
Free Initial Consultation
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