Personal Injury Compensation NSW — What Damages Can You Claim?

If you have been injured in NSW, you may be entitled to claim compensation — but many people do not realise how many different types of damages they can actually claim. A personal injury claim can cover far more than just your medical bills. It can include lost wages, pain and suffering, future treatment costs, and even help around the house if your injuries have affected your ability to manage day to day tasks. Understanding what you are entitled to is the first step to making sure you do not leave money on the table.

What are damages in a personal injury claim?

Damages are the amount of money that a person claims when they suffer injury and are seeking compensation from another person or business. Damages generally consist of four main types of compensation — pain and suffering, medical expenses, economic loss or loss of earnings, and domestic assistance or help around the house. Damages are assessed differently depending on the type of accident, as different laws apply to each type of claim.

Pain and suffering — what can you claim?

This claim relates to the impact the accident has on a person’s life. A Court will consider what impact the accident has on a person’s activities of daily living, such as being unable to participate in prior sporting or recreational activities, whether there has been a need for surgery or other major treatment and what type of treatment has been required.

Pain and suffering includes an assessment of the impact from the time of the incident up to the time of assessment and also includes a consideration of future pain and suffering. That might include possible future surgeries, any prospective deterioration of the condition and psychological impacts. The age of the injured person will also come into consideration — a person who is 25 years of age will have a greater future impact than someone who is 65 years of age.

Medical expenses — what is covered?

An injured person is entitled to claim the cost of their treatment. That includes the cost of surgery, visits to doctors, physiotherapy, medication and rehabilitation costs. Future costs to a person’s estimated life expectancy can also be claimed based on what those future expenses would look like.

Included in the claim for medical expenses is not only direct out of pocket expenses to the injured person, but also any reimbursement to a private health fund or reimbursement to a workers compensation insurer if the claim has a work related component.

Economic loss — how is lost income calculated?

Economic loss is the claim for lost earnings or income experienced after an accident. If you have suffered injury and cannot perform your work in your pre-injury employment you may be entitled to claim for that loss. A claim can be made if you are restricted from certain tasks, restricted from working in your old workplace, limited in the number of hours you can work, or have imposed self-modified restrictions of which your employer is aware.

The claim is calculated as the difference between what you were earning before the accident compared to what you have earned since, calculated on a net loss. Any loss of superannuation benefits are also claimable in addition to wage loss.

Future economic loss is calculated as the difference between what you could have earned had you not been injured compared to what you are now capable of earning, calculated to retirement age. The standard retirement age is currently 67 years.

Domestic assistance and attendant care services

Attendant care services or domestic assistance is a claim made when an injured person is unable to perform work around the house, such as gardening, cleaning and general maintenance, due to physical restrictions and pain.

There are two main claims that can be made. The first is gratuitous assistance — help provided by a partner, relative or friend who is not paid for that assistance. The second is paid assistance, such as paying someone to mow the lawns or hiring a cleaner.

To claim gratuitous assistance it requires that the work reaches a threshold level of six hours per week for a minimum of six months. Paid care is claimed at the amount paid, with receipts required as evidence.

How are future costs calculated?

Care can be claimed into the future, calculated to a person’s life expectancy and paid as a lump sum. The amount of care claimed is generally determined on the need at the time the claim is being considered and on medical evidence. Future medical costs are calculated based on opinion from doctors trained in considering what future expenses would be expected for that type of injury.

How Whitelaw McDonald can help maximise your claim

Whitelaw McDonald Lawyers will prepare your case and obtain the necessary evidence to ensure your damages are maximised. If you have been injured and need assistance, contact us for a free, no obligation discussion about your circumstances.

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