Injuries in motor vehicle accidents can be life altering and traumatic. Contact us for help with your TAC Claim
Arnold Dallas McPherson have a team of specialist TAC lawyers that will help you throughout your claim to obtain the maximum payout possible.
All types of motor vehicle accidents are covered by the TAC. The accident does not even need to be someone else’s fault for you to have an entitlement to compensation.
We pride ourselves on being able to assist from start to finish in TAC claims.
We will work hard to maximise any lump sum payouts. We only ever charge reasonable and fair costs for assisting you. We are here to help you.
We believe we provide the best assistance in TAC claims in Victoria. Contact us if you want to experience this for yourself.
A large part of the TAC scheme is ‘no-fault’. It provides benefits to people who have been injured in transport accident, regardless of how the accident occurred.
The benefits provided by the no fault part of the scheme fall into three different categories:
You can make a TAC claim if you’ve been injured in any type of transport accident. A transport accident is defined as an accident that has been caused by the driving of a car, motorcycle, bus, train or tram.
Injured persons can be drivers, passengers, pedestrians, cyclists and commuters.
To make your TAC claim, you need to;
Our Personal Injury Lawyers can also assist you with this process.
If you are claiming compensation for time off work, you will need to get a medical certificate from your doctor and proof of your earnings. You will then have to regularly send monthly medical certificates to the TAC for as long as you are unable to or restricted at work.
For those that are earners at the time of a transport accident, you can claim income replacement benefits.
Your first five days off work cannot be claimed from TAC. Most people use sick leave for this period, if they are entitled to this. After that, you can receive payment for time off work due to your injuries.
You may be an earner even if you were not working at the time of the accident, but had worked over the previous two years. You should seek legal advice as to whether you are an earner, if in any doubt.
If you are totally unable to work, you will be paid 80% of your pre-accident weekly earnings.
If you are suffering a partial loss of earnings, you should receive 85% of the difference between your pre-accident earnings and your current earnings.
If you are an earner still unable to work after 18 months, the TAC should continue to pay you but the amount will based on your loss of earning capacity, which may be different to your pre-injury earnings.
If you are not an earner but still cannot work 18 months after the accident, you may still be eligible for loss of earning capacity payments, but calculated under a different formula.
If you cannot work after three years, you will only receive loss of earnings payments from the TAC if;
Remember, you must keep lodging monthly medical certificates from your doctor with the TAC to continue to be paid.
The only other way to receive compensation for being unable to work is by making a Common Law (Fault) claim.
You can claim all reasonable medical expenses related to your injury. Medical services must be provided by a TAC accredited provider.
You can also claim for travel expenses when you see your own treating doctors and when you are sent to doctors by the TAC.
You may also claim for home help, help in the garden or for modifications to your home and car, where necessary. You should discuss these needs with your doctor, who can provide a letter to the TAC setting out your needs.
In the event that the TAC decide to reject any request for medical treatment or assistance, you should contact our lawyers regarding disputing the TAC’s decision as soon as possible.
If, after you recover as best you can from your injuries, you are assessed as having a more than a 10% permanent impairment as a result of your transport accident, you will receive lump sum compensation which we call an impairment benefit.
It does not matter how your accident occurred, and who or what was at fault for the accident.
The TAC will generally not assess you for this benefit before 18 months after your accident.
If the TAC assesses your impairment, you should consult us immediately to ensure this has been completed correctly.
However, the TAC do not usually go out of their way to have people assessed for Permanent Impairment. You ought to consult us as soon as possible to discuss your potential entitlements. Once you have stabilised from your transport accident injuries, you can commence your claim.
This assessment is also important in considering whether you have a serious injury or not.
A serious injury is required to sue any party that is at fault for your motor vehicle accident. The process of showing you have a serious injury begins with an assessment of your permanent impairment.
If your permanent impairment is 30% or more by law you have a serious injury automatically.
However, if your permanent impairment is less than 30%, and you want to claim common law damages, you will need to apply to the TAC for a serious injury certificate.
To prove serious injury, you must show you have a:
The first step is to lodge a serious injury application with the TAC. Our lawyers are experts in preparing these applications for the TAC to consider. This process usually takes around three months.
If, after consideration of your application, the TAC will not grant you a serious injury certificate, we can appeal this decision in the County Court.
A common law claim is a claim made when you can show that fault or “negligence” on the part of another driver or some other person has caused your injury.
This is a process where you sue the other person for causing injury to you.
However, most dealings in relation to motor vehicle accidents are ultimately dealt with by the TAC, rather than the individual at fault, as they insure drivers in Victoria for personal injury caused in a motor vehicle accident.
A successful common law claim results in a payment of a lump sum called “damages” to you by the TAC.
Your injury must be considered to qualify as a “serious injury” before you can claim common law damages.
Once you have proved your serious injury, we must negotiate with the TAC for the appropriate payment of damages to you. Such negotiations are often successful, however if negotiations fail, we will go to Court for you.
Damages have two components:
Once you receive a lump sum for lost wages, your weekly payments of compensation will stop.
If you receive a lump sum, whether for lost wages and/or pain and suffering, you are still entitled to payment of medical benefits. These are not affected by any compensation steps outlined above.
If a transport accident has contributed to the death of a person who was an earner, the dependents of the deceased person can claim benefits.
Earner includes a person receiving Centrelink benefits for 26 weeks of the two years prior to the accident.
All of the above benefits are “no fault” benefits, so families of people who die in single vehicle accidents are also covered.
However, if death has been caused by negligence (fault) or another person, the dependants may sue for damages. You will need to see a one of our Personal Injury lawyers for advice in relation to this. Such claims can be complicated, due to having to compare “no fault” entitlements to fault based damages. Expert legal advice is required for such a decision.
If you are the parent of a child injured in an accident, the TAC will pay reasonable travel costs for you to visit your child in hospital and may pay for your reasonable accommodation costs.
If you are staying overnight at a hospital, the TAC may pay for your spouse and children to visit you. To qualify, they must live more than 100 kilometres from the hospital. If they do, the TAC will pay for their reasonable travel and accommodation costs.
Your rights to compensation may be affected by being reduced or not payable at all:
Similar provisions apply to driving whilst under the influence of drugs. Such provisions are complex, and often depend on the BAC of a person, or drug related offence they have been convicted of. You should ask one of our lawyers if you are concerned about this.
You only have 12 months to challenge a TAC decision. This period cannot be extended.
If the TAC make a decision that you do not agree with, you can then ask for an internal review or you can go directly to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (“VCAT”) to try to resolve the dispute. You must however go to VCAT within 12 months of the decision being made.
If the decision is disputed formally via a lawyer, this 12 month period is effectively suspended for the duration of the dispute.
It is therefore best to always seek legal advice as soon as possible regarding any decision by the TAC that you do not agree with.
The TAC is required to help you design a rehabilitation and return to work plan, preferably with a rehabilitation provider. You must take all reasonable steps to participate in rehabilitation and return to work. If you do not, your benefits can be stopped.
Legal costs can be expensive, but we will do all we can to help. What we can do includes:
We will discuss costs in detail with you at our first interview. We will always answer your questions about costs. We will clearly advise you of the total costs when you come to settle your claim, and pride ourselves on being able to be clear as to what you will receive in hand, after payment of costs, before you settle your case.
A person can generally make a claim from the TAC if they are injured in a motor vehicle accident, due to the driving, or in certain circumstances, the use of, a motor vehicle. The definition of “motor vehicle” is quite broad, and can include a variety of transport, such as cars, trains, buses and even some industrial vehicles.
There are some exceptions to this, such as unregistered vehicles being driven off road, or lighter motorised transport such as mobility scooters, though advice should be sought from your solicitor at Arnold Dallas McPherson if any vehicle has been involved in your injury.
In order to make a claim from the TAC, you should call the TAC directly on 1300 654 329. You will then speak to a person there who will complete a claim form for you.
You have one year to lodge a TAC claim after your motor vehicle accident. There are certain circumstances in which this can be extended, however the safest course is to call the TAC and begin the claims process within one year of the date of your accident.
The circumstances in which this period can be extended are complicated and if you are beyond the one-year period, you should contact us as soon as possible for advice.
Loss of Earnings/Income replacement
A weekly wage calculated on what you were earning prior to injury is payable.
There are different rules that apply to the rates of pay that are payable and for the length of time that you can receive payments after injury. Complicating factors, such as sporadic or self-employment, or multiple jobs can make this calculation difficult.
TAC do not always get this calculation right. Your lawyer will be able to advise you in relation to such payments as they apply to you personally.
Medical Expenses
Medical expenses and other similar costs that you may have are paid by TAC following injury. This can extend to a range of assistance, including gardening, home and car modifications, aids and appliances.
Lump Sum Compensation and Damages
If your injury is significant and permanent TAC may pay a lump sum of compensation to you.
You may be entitled to an Impairment claim and, if you have a ‘serious injury’ and someone else is at fault, a common law damages claim for pain and suffering and loss of income.
Your lawyer can help you with these benefits.
If you have a long term injury you may have a Permanent Impairment. What level of Impairment you have directly correlates to how much compensation you are entitled to.
Firstly, you must wait at least 12 months after your injury to see what Impairment you may have. This is to allow you to stabilise from your injuries.
Once you have stabilised from your injuries, your lawyer at Arnold Dallas McPherson in concert with the TAC will arrange for assessment of your Impairment in accordance with specific Guidelines.
Arnold Dallas McPherson are experts in advising as to appropriate Impairment ratings taking into account the symptoms and treatment a client has had and how the Guidelines relate to them. We strongly recommend you seek advice of experts in this area when pursuing an Impairment Claim.
If you have a “serious injury” then yes, you can.
Where injuries are long term and serious you can make a claim for loss of income and pain and suffering damages. But you must be able to prove that your injury was someone else’s fault, either the other driver or someone else.
You need Specialist legal advice to pursue a claim against someone for damages. Arnold Dallas McPherson can advise you of your chances of making a successful claim and guide you through the process.
It is difficult to know exactly what a person is entitled to in terms of damages until their case has been explored thoroughly.
Arnold Dallas McPherson is comprised by experienced solicitors who understand how damages are calculated in any given circumstance and will be able to advise you as your case progresses. Many of the solicitors at Arnold Dallas McPherson are Personal Injury Specialists, accredited by the Law Institute of Victoria.
Pain and suffering damages are calculated based upon the effects of your injuries on you as an individual. They depend on how any given injury, or injuries, affect your day-to-day life, home duties, hobbies, recreational activities, pain levels, sleep, mood and various other facets of your life.
How the injury affects you is the key factor.
Loss of income damages can be for your past loss of earnings and also sometimes for your future loss of earning capacity. This can be a wide ranging calculation depending on your age, education, skills, training and experience in the workforce, when looked at in the context of your injuries suffered and your resultant disability.
It will depend significantly on your personal circumstances as to what you might be entitled to.
Again, how the injury affects you is the key factor in this calculation.
At various stages throughout a claim, the TAC may make a decision in relation to your entitlements that you do not agree with. At that stage, it is extremely important that you obtain legal advice regarding your options as soon as possible.
You only have one year to dispute any decision made by the TAC. This is a very strict time limit and it is not able to be extended.
Once you have a dispute with the TAC, however, there is a protocol process between the TAC and solicitors acting for injured persons that allows most matters to be resolved.
Depending on the nature of the matter, if agreement cannot be reached with the TAC, the matter can be referred to VCAT or in some instances a Court to resolve.
Even what you might consider relatively minor issues should be queried with your solicitor at Arnold Dallas McPherson as early as possible so as to ensure your rights are protected.
Our TAC Accident Injury Lawyers are here and ready to answer any of your questions.
We are ready to listen to you and your story and help you move forward with your life. Call us for a free case evaluation. It doesn't cost you anything to know where you stand.
Our Personal Injury Lawyers are here and ready to help
We'll listen to your story and help you move forward with your life. Call or message us for a free case evaluation. It doesn't cost you anything to know where you stand.
Reach out to one of our Personal Injury Lawyers and they will respond to you as soon as possible.
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