Should I lodge a TAC claim?

by Road Accidents site | Mar 1, 2022 | Car accident

Should I lodge a TAC claim?

Should I lodge a TAC claim graphic

In most instances where a person has been injured in a transport accident in Victoria we would recommend that they lodge a TAC claim.

There is very little downside to lodging a TAC claim and in terms of upside, it is something that can potentially provide you with a significant amount of assistance if you understand the system and what you can claim.

The rest of this page will explore why you should lodge a TAC claim.

You have paid for TAC insurance

Every year that you pay for your vehicle registration, you are paying for TAC insurance to cover you and other road users in the event of an accident where someone is injured or dies.

A component of your yearly vehicle registration fee is for this TAC insurance component and it makes up a pretty significant part of the overall registration fee.

You can read more about that here.

You could have potentially paid several thousands of dollars for this TAC insurance over the years and many people aren’t even aware of this.

What is a TAC claim?

A TAC claim, once accepted, will provide an injured person with certain benefits.

There are four main benefits under the TAC scheme.

Once you have lodged and had accepted an initial TAC claim, which you can read about here, you’ll be entitled to the payment of reasonable medical and like expenses and income benefits if your ability to work has been impacted.

This might mean that you are not able to work to the same extent that you were working before the accident but still able to do some work, or you’re not able to work at all.

You can read about the TAC claim process here.

If as a consequence of the road accident you have suffered permanent impairment of some sort, you may also be entitled to a lump sum in the form of an impairment benefit.

Finally, if you’ve suffered a serious injury in the accident which was at least contributed to by the negligence of another party, you may be entitled to pursue another lump sum called a common law claim.

You may be entitled to be compensated for pain and suffering and economic loss.

If a person died in a road accident, assistance and compensation is available to the family members and you can read more about that here.

Alternatives to lodging a TAC claim

If you don’t want to lodge a TAC claim, there are alternatives however in our opinion none of them come close to providing the level of assistance that the TAC will.

You could for example if you are not able to work or if your ability to work has been impacted, access your employment entitlements such as sick leave, annual leave and long service leave.

You could pursue a claim for income protection or total and permanent disablement via your superannuation or through standalone policies.

If your ability to work is impacted you may be able to access Centrelink benefits.

We could go into detail in relation to the positives and negatives of accessing the above alternatives to a TAC claim, but really there is no comparison in relation to the level of assistance that you can obtain.

Is a TAC claim worth it?

Some people avoid lodging a TAC client because they view it as not being worth it and potentially a nuisance to have to deal with.

The reality is that most TAC claims that are lodged are accepted without issue.

You will more than likely not need to attend a medical assessment after lodging a TAC claim to have your claim determined.

What usually happens is the TAC will consider the claim and then make a decision to either accept or reject your claim relatively quickly and usually with minimal fuss. Most claims lodged on the TAC will be accepted.

You will then be entitled to the payment of medical and like expenses and if your ability to work has been impacted, income payments.

Claiming medical expenses from the TAC is for the most part not difficult.

You can either pay for a particular type of medical expense yourself or you can give your TAC claim number to a provider and ask them to send their bill to the TAC directly.

However, sometimes issues in relation to claiming medical expenses can arise.

Some common issues are;

A person isn’t sure whether they need to get approval from the TAC first before claiming a particular type of medical expense.
The TAC will only pay certain amounts for different types of medical treatment and sometimes this can cause an issue. For example, when I provider bills you for more than what the TAC will pay for you there can be sometimes issues with paying the gap amounts.
TAC can sometimes reject paying for different types of medical treatment which can lead to disputes.
There can sometimes be delays with providers getting paid by the TAC which can cause frustration.
They can sometimes be delay The TAC reimbursing you for medical expenses that you have paid for.

If you have a lawyer, then you can deal with many of these issues by simply asking them to assist you which many will do.

If you wish to obtain income payments, then you will need to obtain certificates of capacity on a regular basis.

You can read about certificates of capacity in detail here.

In general though if you are wanting to claim income payments on an ongoing basis, maybe for months or perhaps for years, you need to know that you’re likely have to attend your GP or other health practitioner on roughly a monthly basis in order to obtain certificates.

Some people find this to be an inconvenience.

Also sometimes the TAC can reduce and or terminate your entitlement to income payments but you will be notified if this happens and provided with reasons as to why. And if you or your lawyer disagree with the decision to reduce or terminate, there are appeal avenues that you can pursue.

Sometimes there can be delays in income payments being made to you.

In relation to an impairment benefit lump sum claim, you don’t have to pursue this in the first place if you do not want to.

In a nutshell, you would need to be assessed by medical practitioners who grade all of the injuries and conditions that result from the accident.

Sometimes people find it inconvenient to have to attend medical assessments which can sometimes take several hours each.

Sometimes a person may only have one assessment to attend but other times they could have three or four or potentially more that they would need to attend to pursue the claim.

This claim can take several months from start to finish.

In relation to a common law claim, this is a claim that can sometimes cause people some frustration as it can sometimes take years to resolve if contested by the TAC (other times they can resolve in only a matter of months however).

You can decide what entitlements you can pursue under a TAC claim

If you don’t want to claim a particular type of medical expense from the TAC for whatever reason, you don’t have to.

You don’t have to pursue an impairment benefit lump sum claim or a common law claim if you don’t want to.

You could lodge a TAC claim and then potentially not claim anything for a number of years before making a claim, for example, for the payment of medical expenses or perhaps even surgery.

So you have flexibility to access entitlements that may assist you and you do not need to access all of the entitlements open to you if you do not want to.

And in most cases, at any time you can choose not to continue to pursue a particular TAC entitlement.

The word however in relation to this. There are time limits involved in relation to TAC claims.

For example in most cases people are entitled to the payment of income benefits for three years post accident or three years from when an injury first manifests itself after an accident.

If you want to read more about the time limits involved you can visit this page.

Conclusion

In just about every case in which a person has been involved in a motor vehicle accident where they have suffered an injury, we would recommend they lodge a TAC claim.

Victorians pay for TAC injury insurance coverage in their yearly vehicle registration fees and the TAC component makes up a significant part of this.

A person is able to get assistance from the TAC in the form of medical expenses paid for, income benefits if their ability to work is impacted, and a potential entitlement to lump sum compensation claims.

There are some factors in a TAC claim that some people might find inconvenient such as having to obtain certificates of capacity from a doctor on a regular basis if they wish to obtain income payments, or issues with obtaining reimbursement for medical expenses from the TAC.

These factors should be considered against the assistance that the TAC in general can provide to a person.

Recent posts

How to make a TAC claim

by Road Accidents site | Jul 7, 2021 | Car accident

How to make a TAC claim

How to make a TAC claim graphic

Many people do not lodge a TAC claim after a motor vehicle accident, simply because they are unaware that they’re entitled to make a claim, or because they’re not sure what they can actually claim, or they might not know how to make a claim.

This page will show you the following:

1. How to lodge a TAC claim

2. Determine whether you’re likely to be entitled to TAC benefits.

3. What the TAC will pay for if you have an accepted claim.

How to make a TAC claim

There are three ways in which you can lodge a TAC claim after accident.

1. Call the TAC on 1300 654 329

They’re available Monday to Friday between the hours of 8:30 am and 5:30 pm.

Tell the person that you speak to that you have been involved in an accident and that you wish to lodge a new TAC claim.

The person will ask you a number of questions about how the accident happened, your contact information, details of any vehicles involved and details of any police attendance (see later on in this article for the information that you should have prior to lodging a claim).

Generally speaking the call should take between 15 and 30 minutes.

When the call has finished, you’ll be provided with a TAC claim number. This number is important and you should make a note of it.

You will also receive some correspondence which include some forms that you should sign and return.

If you have a lawyer there will be a form that will include an authority document that lets the TAC know you’re legally represented.

The TAC will determine whether to accept or deny the claim within 21 days.

If they require further information in order to process the claim, they will contact you during this period.

If your claim is accepted then you are entitled to the payment of medical and like expenses and if your ability to work has been impacted because of the accident, you’re entitled to income payments.

If the TAC reject your claim then there are appeal avenues that you can access.

2. TAC claim online lodgement

The TAC has an online claim lodgement form you can use.

The form will ask you a number of questions.

Once all of the questions have been answered, you can submit the form online.

Their online claim lodgement form looks like this (below).

Screenshot of TAC online claim lodgement page

Keep in mind however that if you don’t have all the information that you need to complete the form, you may not be able to lodge your claim online.

3. Hospital lodgement

The final way for a claim to be lodged is by a hospital.

Sometimes if you’ve been hospitalised after an accident, the hospital will lodge a TAC claim on your behalf.

They do this because they want to ensure that they get paid for the treatment that they provide to you.

You often won’t be told that the hospital has lodged a claim on your behalf.

To find out whether they have lodged a claim in your matter, you can call the TAC and ask them, or alternatively you can contact the hospital.

Before lodging a claim, you should have the following information:

Your preferred contact information
Details of the accident – including the date, how it occurred, where it occurred
Details of any injuries you suffered
The name of any doctors or any health practitioners that you’ve seen
Details of any hospital you attended
Details of any police who attended the scene, or accident reporting details
Details of any witnesses
Registration numbers of any relevant vehicles involved
Employment and income details if you’ve lost income and earnings as a consequence of the accident
Your bank account details (the bank account where payment to be made).

If the accident involved public transport, ensure also to have the following;

Name of public transport operator (e.g. metro trains)
Details of any person that you reported the accident to
Details of your trip including where you were travelling to and where you were travelling from
Details of any vehicle number or identifying number.

TAC claim eligibility

The TAC will pay compensation to a person who is injured, or to the dependant of a person who dies as a result of a motor vehicle accident that occurs in Victoria or interstate with a Victorian registered vehicle and the injured person is a Victorian resident or was an occupant of a Victorian based vehicle.

Who is excluded from claiming TAC benefits?

If the accident occurred after 1 January 1987, the TAC will not be responsible for paying any benefits if a report of the transport accident has not made to the police if the accident involved a motor vehicle or to the operator of a public transport service (e.g. train or tram).

However, the TAC has a discretion in some circumstances to accept claims where there has been a failure to report the accident.

The TAC will only pay medical and like expenses if a person was injured driving a motor vehicle and was convicted of culpable driving causing death or driving a motor vehicle in a matter that is dangerous to the public causing death.

If you’re injured in a motor vehicle accident that occurred as part of a car race or similar event, you may not be entitled to claim.

If you suffer injury in a motor vehicle accident that occurred during the course of your employment, then you may be entitled to WorkCover benefits rather than TAC benefits.

The TAC is not liable to pay any loss of earnings benefits (relating to the first 18 months after an accident) if;

The transport accident charge (which is paid at the time of your vehicle registration) had not been paid at the time of the transport accident.
If a person was unlicensed at the time of the accident or if the license had been cancelled or suspended or in some instances if the person held or had held a license but at the time of the accident it had not been renewed for the last three years
The person had been convicted of driving under the influence unless it is proven that this did not contribute to the accident
If person at the time of the accident was the driver or a passenger in a motor vehicle that was used for or in connection with the commission of certain offences, which includes stealing or attempting to steal a vehicle or intentionally causing injury to another person.

If you’re involved in an accident on private land then the TAC is not liable to pay compensation if the motor vehicle was unregistered. You can read more about accidents on private property here.

What do I need to prove to have an accepted TAC claim?

You need to prove the following;

That a transport accident occurred
That the accident has been reported to police (and where relevant to the train/tram/bus operator)
That you suffered injury as a result of the accident (or, that you had a pre-existing condition that has been aggravated by the accident).

TAC claim time limit

You have 12 months from the date of your accident to lodge a TAC claim.

Alternatively, you have 12 months from the date that an injury from your accident first becomes evident.

In some circumstances, the TAC can consider a claim made outside the 12 month period if it is made within three years of the accident.

Or, the date from when the injury first manifested itself and that reasonable grounds exist for the delay in making a claim.

However, we recommend lodging the TAC claim as soon as possible.

A TAC claim is designed to assist you after a motor vehicle accident and for this reason waiting is often detrimental and can prevent you from getting the help and support you need after a motor vehicle accident.

If a claim is not made for a person under the age of 18 by their parent or guardian within the appropriate time, that person can make a claim until the day before they reach the age of 21.

If you do not lodge a TAC claim within three years post accident, it is likely the TAC will not accept your claim and you will not be entitled to any compensation payable by the TAC (that being said, if you are outside the three year period and you think a TAC claim would benefit you, you should lodge a claim as soon as possible).

When you are claiming reimbursement of medical expenses from the TAC, you have two years from when the expense was incurred in which to do so.

If you wish to lodge a lump sum claim with the TAC for compensation of your injuries, generally speaking you have six years from the date of accident in which to bring a claim.

In some cases, it is possible to obtain an extension of time in which to do so.

What can TAC pay for?

There are four main entitlements under the TAC scheme.

These are;

the payment of medical expenses
the payment of income payments
an impairment benefit lump sum
a common law claim for damages.

1. Medical expenses

The TAC can pay for the reasonable cost of any medical expenses incurred as a consequence of the motor vehicle accident.

The TAC will cover reasonable medical, hospital, nursing, personal and household, occupational, rehabilitation and ambulance services.

Doctor, chemist, physiotherapy, and chiropractor bills are covered, as are appointments to see your specialist, and surgery (if approved by the TAC).

Mobility devices and special equipment, home and car modifications and transportation costs are also covered (again, if approved by the TAC).

There is no set time limit on how long your entitlement to medical expenses will run for.

TAC medical excess

In 2018, the TAC made some changes to the way that it approves treatment for people who are injured in a motor vehicle accident.

Prior to this, the TAC used to have a medical excess scheme which meant that an injured person needed to pay a minimum amount for medical treatment before the TAC started paying medical expenses.

However this is no longer relevant.

The TAC will be responsible for paying your medical treatment expenses as soon as your claim is accepted.

Keep in mind however that if you’re injured before the medical excess was removed (14 February 2018) you may still be required to pay the medical excess.

This means that you will need to pay for any medical treatment yourself and then provide proof of payment and treatment (totalling $651) to the TAC before they will pay your medical expenses.

2. Income payments

If your injuries prevent you from being able to do your job properly, whether that’s because you can’t work at all or can only do some work, then you’ll be entitled to income payments from the TAC.

To get payments from the TAC you will need to obtain a certificate of capacity from your GP or other health practitioner.

Most health professionals can provide you with TAC certificates other than psychologists.

It’s a good idea to have your GP write your certificates as you probably see them on a regular basis.

In terms of how payments are calculated, they’re based on an average of your wage of the 12 months prior to the injury (with a few exceptions).

This is called your pre-injury average weekly earnings.

You’ll sometimes see this is referred to as PIAWE.

How long can these payments go for?

Here’s a summary;

If your income (gross) is less than $708 a week, the TAC will pay you 100% percent of your income.
If 80% of your gross income is less than $708 a week, they pay you $708 a week.
If your income is between $708 and $1430 a week, they will pay you 80% of your income a week.
If 80% of income is more than $1430 a week, they pay $1430 a week.

What happens at the three year period?

There’s a significant change in the eligibility test for weekly payments at the three year mark.

Before then, you need to show that you can’t do your old job in an unrestricted way.

After the three mark however, you need to show that you have a 50% or greater whole person impairment.

There’s not a lot of people on weekly payments post three years because 50% is a very significant whole person impairment rating that very few people reach.

3. Impairment lump sum

Some people also choose to pursue an impairment lump sum claim.

This is lump sum compensation claim for permanent impairment.

In order to pursue an impairment claim it doesn’t matter whether someone was at fault or not or whether you’re at fault.

Anyone that is injured on the road is entitled to pursue an impairment benefit if they have suffered a permanent impairment.

A key to success in an impairment claim is to make sure that all of the injuries that you suffered in the accident are assessed by specialist doctors.

These doctors will grade all of the injuries and conditions that relate to the motor vehicle accident. They will put figures on them.

These percentage figures will then get combined into one overall figure.

The higher the overall figure, the greater the chance of success in the claim and the more that the claim is worth.

As of 2021, the minimum amount payable was $8040 and the maximum amount was $366,900.

These figures change at the end of each financial year.

4. Common law claim for damages

Some people are also able to pursue another lump sum claim called a common law claim for damages.

This is the claim which involves suing another party for their negligence.

Just being involved in a motor vehicle accident doesn’t automatically entitle you to pursue a common

law claim for damages. You need to show that someone else was negligent and it was their negligence that caused or contributed to the accident.

If you cannot show that someone else was negligent you will not succeed in this claim.

The second thing that you need to show to succeed in a common law claim for damages is that you have suffered a serious injury. This is a legal term.

If you succeed in your case, you can be compensated for the pain and suffering you’ve gone through and will go through and the loss of earnings you have experienced and will experience because of the accident.

As far as the pain and suffering side of things is concerned, it is calculated based on previous cases that have come before yours.

So part of a lawyers job (you should have a lawyer if you pursue a common law claim) is to work out where your pain and suffering consequences fit based on previous cases.

In relation to loss of earnings, calculating loss of earnings isn’t as simple as working out what you’ve lost or are likely to lose on a dollar for dollar basis.

Keep in mind that these common law claims must be initiated within six years from the date of your injury. There are some exceptions to this but as a general rule, six years is all you get.

How do I find my TAC claim number?

When you lodge a TAC claim over the phone or online, you’ll be provided with your TAC number.

If you can’t find it, it should be printed towards the top of any correspondence you receive from the TAC.

It should look something like this: 20/123456

If you still can’t locate it, the easiest way to obtain it is to call the TAC.

TAC phone number

The TAC phone number is 1300 654 329.

Recent posts

TAC common law claims – what you need to know

by Road Accidents site | Jul 6, 2021 | Car accident

TAC common law claims

The expressions TAC common law, TAC common law claim and TAC common law damages refer to a lump sum claim that a person is entitled to claim if they suffer a ‘serious injury’ in a motor vehicle accident and where the injury was caused or contributed to by someone else’s negligence.

What does common law mean?

The term common law refers to decisions that have been made by courts that have resulted in precedents being made.

When courts make decisions on cases, in some instances those decisions create new laws which adds to the body of law which is referred to as common law.

Keep in mind however that if you pursue a common law claim for damages after a motor vehicle accident, this does not necessarily mean that your matter will go to court.

In fact, most common law claims after a motor vehicle accident do not end up there.

What must be proven to succeed in a TAC common law claim?

There are two things that must be proven;

1. That you suffered a serious injury.

2. That there is negligence on behalf of another party.

Serious injury

In order to bring a TAC common law claim, a person must first prove they have suffered a serious injury in the accident.

Under the relevant legislation, there are two ways that you can obtain a serious injury certificate.

A serious injury certificate is a document that legally recognises that you have a serious injury that results from the motor vehicle accident.

You can read more about ‘serious injuries’ here.

The 30% or more test

If, for the purposes of your impairment benefit lump sum claim you have been assessed as having a 30% or more whole person impairment rating, then you are automatically deemed to have a serious injury and you’ll be provided with a serious injury certificate by the TAC.

Keep in mind however that the TAC will still require a serious injury application to be made in order to obtain a serious injury certificate.

The narrative test

The second way that you can obtain a serious injury certificate is if you satisfy one of the four definitions of ‘serious injury’ which are outlined in the relevant legislation (the Transport Accident Act 1986 – section 93 (17)).

You can see the definitions below:

Definition of a TAC serious injury for a common law claim

This is the most common way that people who are involved in a motor vehicle accidents obtain serious injury certificates.

The narrative test is all about looking at the impact that an injury has on a person’s life and will have into the future.

It is about comparing how the person was before they were involved in a motor vehicle accident and how they are after the motor vehicle accident.

The bigger the difference between the before and after, the more likely the TAC is to conclude that they have a serious injury.

In order to obtain a serious injury certificate via the narrative test, you need to show that the consequences of the injury on you are very considerable.

Keep in mind that injuries can have different effects on people and it is important to consider the actual impact of an injury will have on a specific person.

To illustrate this point, let’s say that to people of been involved in a motor vehicle accident and both of them have suffered an injury to their right shoulder.

One of those people is a retired man. The other is a promising tennis player in their early 20s.

Although both injuries might be the same, the impact that the injury will have on the tennis player in his 20’s is likely to be much more significant than on the retired man.

This illustration points to the fact that in determining whether someone has a serious injury following a motor vehicle accident, the impact of the injury as a whole is important, and one must look at the consequences of the injury and how the injury has and will impact a persons life.

What is the process for obtaining a serious injury certificate?

This is one part of a TAC claim where we would strongly advise that you have a lawyer to assist you.

In order to obtain a serious injury certificate after a motor vehicle accident, you need to prepare and lodge a serious injury application.

In general, a serious injury application includes the following;

1. Serious injury claim form document.

2. An affidavit that is sworn by you. This is a document that tells your story and illustrates how the injury that you are claiming is a serious injury and how it impacts your life.

3. Medical material in support of your application which can include material from doctors that have treated you as well as doctors that you may have seen that have assessed your injury (independent medical examiners/medico legal practitioners).

4. Material supporting any loss of earnings claim which may include copies of your taxation returns, and other pay material.

Once the serious injury application material has been compiled, it gets sent (or lodged online) to the TAC.

The TAC then consider the application.

They need to determine whether to accept your application or not – that is, they need to determine whether you have a serious injury or not.

If you have previously been assessed as having a 30% or greater whole person impairment rating, then you will be provided with a serious injury certificate but you still need to go through this process.

Once a decision has been made by the TAC in relation to your serious injury application, they will advise you or your legal representative in writing as to their decision.

What happens if my TAC serious injury application is granted?

If your serious injury application is granted by the TAC, the first thing that will happen is that a conference will be arranged between the parties involved to try and resolve the matter.

This is called a settlement conference.

Generally speaking, a settlement conference will occur within 1 to 2 months after you are granted a serious injury certificate.

If the matter does not resolve at the settlement conference, then, if you wish to pursue the matter, you must issue proceedings in either the County Court or the Supreme Court.

Keep in mind however that even if you have to go down this road of issuing court proceedings, there are a number of opportunities for your matter to resolve prior to the matter reaching hearing stage.

You can even resolve on the day that your matter is listed for hearing.

Most matters that get listed to be heard in court resolve by way of negotiation between the parties.

However, there is always a small chance that your case will need to be heard in court, particularly if there is a dispute as to the facts of the case or if agreement can’t be reached as to the appropriate amount of compensation.

What happens if my serious injury application is rejected

If the TAC reject your serious injury application and you still wish to proceed with the matter, then you need to issue court proceedings in the County court.

This is done by the issuing what’s called and originating motion.

Your matter that needs to be prepared for hearing in court.

The purpose of this hearing is for a judge to determine whether you have a serious injury or not. It is not about the issue of negligence.

In preparing the matter for court it is likely that update medical material will be obtained from your treating medical practitioners and you may be asked to attend an assessment with a medicolegal doctor or maybe more than one.

If you succeed at court then you’ll follow the process as outlined above (as if you’re serious injury application was successful initially).

That is, the matter will proceed to a settlement conference where the parties will try and resolve the matter.

Negligence

The second thing that must be proven to succeed in a common law claim, in addition to showing that you’ve suffered a serious injury, is negligence.

Negligence means that, in simple terms, another party has acted negligently which contributed to the accident and your injury or injuries.

It means a failure of another person to take reasonable care to avoid causing new injury.

A simple example of negligence is if a person failed to give way at a give way sign and hit another car.

How to prove negligence?

Typically, if police attend the scene of an accident, they will provide a report which will sometimes comment on who they believe to be at fault for the accident.

Many times, this is sufficient to prove that negligence.

Other times however it is not immediately clear as to who was at fault for an accident.

If this is the case, Then further investigation may be required to help the parties identify who was at fault for an accident.

There is also a concept called contributory negligence.

This means that although there may be another person who was at fault for the accident, you, the injured person, may have contributed someway to the accident.

Even if you’re able to show that you have a serious injury as a consequence of a motor vehicle accident, if negligence does not exist on behalf of another party you will not succeed in your TAC common law claim.

Damages

If you are successful in showing that you have a serious injury and also that there was negligence on behalf of another party, you are entitled to recover common law damages (lump sum).

You are able to recover two types of damages, being;

1. Pain and suffering damages

2. Economic loss damages, sometimes referred to as pecuniary loss damages.

Pain and suffering damages

As the name suggests, pain and suffering damages seeks to compensate you for the pain and suffering that you’ve gone through as a consequence of the accident and will likely go through into the future.

When considering the pain and suffering consequences of an injury on a persons life, the following things may be considered;

Impact on enjoyment of life
Social activities
Recreational activities
Performance of household chores
Performance for family
Mobility
Sleep
Impact on your ability to care for yourself.

Economic loss damages

The second thing that you are able to be compensated for under a TAC common law claim is for any lost earnings that result from the injury.

This is compensation for loss of earnings that you’ve had since the injury and will likely have into the future.

As an injured person, you’re able to claim lost income beginning from the 18 month anniversary of the accident through to when your common law claim is resolved.

In addition to this, you’re able to claim loss of income into the future usually to retirement age if you can prove that you would’ve worked until retirement age and the injury has impacted your ability to work.

Keep in mind that when calculating your loss of earnings, you will not be compensated dollar for dollar for any lost income.

How loss of earnings are calculate it is more complex than this and for this reason it is important to obtain advice from a specialist TAC lawyer to ensure that you are claiming what you are actually entitled to.

Common law compensation amounts

Currently, the maximum TAC common law payout for pain and suffering that can be awarded is $558,760. The minimum threshold amount is currently $55,840. This is the minimum amount that you must be awarded.

The maximum amount that you are able to be awarded for loss of earnings in a TAC common law claim is $1,257,290, and the minimum amount is $55,840. If your loss of earnings claim does not get over this hurdle, then you will not be entitled to any payment of loss of earnings benefits.

How long do I have to lodge a TAC common law claim?

TAC common law claims should be commenced within six years from the date of the accident.

In some cases however, this period can be extended but as a general rule you should consider six years is all you get.

Courts have a discretion to extend the limitation period in certain circumstances but you should not rely upon this.

How long will a TAC common-law claim take?

It is a common misconception the common law claims will take years to resolve.

Yes, every now and then there may be a common law claim that will take many years to resolve.

However, many common law claims resolve in a matter of months after lodgement of a serious injury application.

Keep in mind however that in order to bring a TAC common law claim, the injuries suffered in the accident need to be stable.

That is, they are not getting any better and not getting any worse.

The reason that your injuries need to be stabilised is because you are getting compensated for any permanent impairment that you are left with and the parties involved need to know what impact the injuries are likely to have on your life and they can only determine that once the injuries have stabilised.

Does a pre-existing injury stop me from pursuing a TAC common law claim?

If you’ve had an injury prior to the motor vehicle accident which was made worse as a consequence of the accident, you are sable to pursue a TAC common law claim.

It’s important to have a lawyer if this applies to you.

This is because, working with doctors, your lawyer will need to disentangle what impact the motor vehicle accident had on your injury and will need to try and disentangle the impact of your pre existing injury.

It is important to keep in mind that an injury does not need to be a new one.

If it’s an aggravation or exacerbation of a pre-existing injury, you may still be entitled to claim common law lump sum compensation.

How can I give my TAC common law claim the best chance of success?

There are two recommendations that we have to give your common law claim the best chance of success.

The first is to be honest about the impact that injury has on you. The second is to make sure you tell your lawyer (if you have one) about any past injuries that might be relevant.

Conclusion

A person may be entitled to obtain common law lump sum compensation if they suffered a serious injury in an accident, and that accident was contributed to by the negligence of another party.

The first step to initiate a claim is to prepare and lodge a serious injury application.

If successful, a person can be compensated for pain and suffering alone, or pain and suffering and economic loss.

A common law claim should be initiated, in most cases, within six years from the date of accident.

Recent posts

TAC insurance if you’ve been in an accident

by Road Accidents site | Jul 5, 2021 | Car accident

TAC insurance if you’ve been in an accident in Victoria

TAC insurance

If you’ve been involved in a motor vehicle accident in Victoria and have suffered injury, in many cases the TAC will be responsible for providing assistance and compensation to you.

That is, they are an insurer.

Many people are unaware of this.

They think of the TAC just as the body that provides information and advice on road safety.

The TAC is an insurance company

How does TAC insurance work?

Once upon a time, owners of cars and motor vehicles were required to obtain third party insurance for their motor vehicles.

They would need to arrange their own insurance coverage to cover them in the event they suffered injury.

Victoria became the first state in Australia to introduce a compensation scheme for victims of motor vehicle accidents.

You are eligible for TAC insurance because you pay a premium to the TAC every year, whether you realise this or not. This is called the TAC charge.

If you’re not sure whether you’re eligible to pursue a TAC claim, this page should help clarify things for you.

What is the TAC charge?

This is a fee that is included in your annual vehicle registration renewal fee.

It is applied to the registration fee of each vehicle that you own.

The Transport Accident Commission charge is used to pay for treatment and other support services for people that have been injured in transport accidents in the state of Victoria.

The TAC will cover you if you suffer injury in a motor vehicle accident.

It will also cover you for any liability if your vehicle causes the injury or death of another person.

Even if someone else was driving your vehicle, generally speaking you should still be covered.

But note this is only if there is injury or death. The TAC do not cover damage to vehicles.

The TAC charge also goes towards improving road conditions, which involves targeting high risk accident locations, ripple strips, wire barriers and other safety measures to bring down the road toll and keep drivers as safe as possible.

The final thing the TAC charge pays for is for public education campaigns to educate the community in relation of Road safety.

How much is the TAC charge?

It is calculated taking into account the type of vehicle you drive, the intended use of that vehicle, the carrying and seating capacity, and the garage location.

It is also based on where the vehicle is usually kept. Some areas are determined to be higher risk than others.

Finally, you may be entitled to a discount if you hold a concession card or if you are a pensioner.

Here’s an example as to how much the TAC charge might cost:

1 July 2021 to –	1 July 2022
Registration fee:	$306
TAC charge	$419
TOTAL:	$726

As you can see from the example above, the TAC charge makes up a significant amount of the total registration fee payment you make every year.

Under what circumstances would someone be insured under TAC?

The following will help you to help you determine whether you may be covered in the event of a transport accident.

A transport accident is defined as an incident that was directly caused by the driving of a motor vehicle, motorcar, train tram or other form of public transport. It also includes incidents in which a pushbike was involved.

Was the injury or death consequence of a motor vehicle, train or tram accident (regardless of fault)?
Did the accident occur after 1 January 1987?
Was a claim made to the TAC within one year after the accident or one year after the injury sustained in the accident manifested itself (in certain circumstances this period can be extended)?
Are you able to establish a relationship between the use of the motor vehicle and the injury that was suffered?

A person may be excluded from obtaining TAC benefits if;

They failed to report an accident
They were driving while they never had a license or while having a suspended or cancelled license
While under the influence
While driving a vehicle in which the transport charges are unpaid
Using a car in connection with an indictable offence
Being injured as part of our in preparation for an organise race, speed trial or other more event
Driving an unregistered uninsured vehicle on private land

What does TAC insurance pay for?

A person that’s been injured in a transport accident is able to bring a claim for the following;

Medical expenses – for medical treatment, rehabilitation services, ambulance services, road accident rescue services, hospital and nursing services.

Lost wages expenses – for loss of earnings and loss of earning capacity for up to 3 years, in most cases, following the accident.

Dependency benefits – if a person is killed in a road accident, the surviving partner and any dependents may be compensated.

Impairment benefits – a lump sum that does not require fault on behalf of someone else. This is paid depending upon the degree of permanent impairment that a person is left with following a motor vehicle accident

Common-law damages claim – if someone is left with a serious injury following a motor vehicle accident that occurred as a result of someone else’s negligence, and they are able to pursue a common law damages claim.

Conclusion

If you’ve been involved in a transport accident in Victoria and you suffered injuries, you are entitled to obtain benefits from the TAC.

The TAC is an insurance company that will cover you in the event of injury. You have paid for TAC insurance coverage in your yearly vehicle registration.

The following TAC benefits are open to you to claim: medical and like expenses, income payments, impairment lump sum claim, common law damages claim.

Recent posts

Involved in a car accident without insurance (and not at fault) – what you need to know

by Road Accidents site | Jun 11, 2021 | Car accident

Car accident with no insurance (but not at fault) in Victoria

Car accident no insurance not at fault vic header

Car accidents can be traumatic enough, until you remember you don’t have insurance – which causes more stress.

This page should help you if you’ve been in a car accident and you don’t have insurance, but the other party was at fault.

After the accident

Hopefully you obtained the contact details and registration details of the other driver.

If you didn’t, then you should do your best to find out who they were. This may involve contacting other witnesses that may have been at the scene (assuming you obtained their contact information?). You can also contact the police.

If all you got was the registration details, then you should report the matter to them.

The first contact with the other driver

You should get in contact with the other party as possible after the accident. The sooner the better.

You’ve got a couple of options as to how you get in contact with them.

The first option is to telephone them.

On the phone, make sure to be respectful and polite. Even if you’re angry.

There’s no need to tell them that you don’t have insurance.

Just let them know that you want to pursue a claim via their insurance company. Ask them to provide you with their insurance company’s contact information.

Sometimes they may provide this information to you on the phone, or they may say that they will send it to you.

Whatever happens during the phone call, make sure to write down what you said and what they said. Keep a detailed record (as detailed as possible) of the conversation.

The notes of this conversation may be very important down the track.

The alternative to calling is to send them a text message or email

Again, in your correspondence be polite and courteous and just let them know that you wish to obtain their insurers contact information.

If they don’t provide you with the contact information

If they don’t provide you with the contact information of the insurer within a few days after you contacted them, you should follow them up again.

Again, you should be polite and courteous and just ask for them to provide the information to you because you want to get the claim going as soon as possible.

If they don’t provide you with the contact information within a reasonable amount of time then I’d suggest doing one of two things:

Either send them written correspondence in the form of a text message or email letting them know that you’ve asked for the information and it hasn’t been forthcoming and that if they don’t provide it to you as a matter of urgency you will contact a lawyer.

The second option is that you contact a lawyer and ask the lawyer to send a letter of demand on your behalf. Keep in mind though that most lawyers will bill you for this work.

Once you have the insurance information

The next step is to call the insurance company and tell them about your accident. Hopefully there is a claim on foot already.

One thing: be careful about what you say about how the accident happened. Keep in mind that the insurance company needs to determine the claim and that includes determining fault. Make sure what you say is accurate.

The insurance company may want you to complete some forms which you should read carefully.

You should obtain repair cost quotes for your vehicle from a licensed repairer. Even if your vehicle is written off, you should get a vehicle repairer to confirm this in writing.

This information and material needs to be sent off to the insurance company to consider.

It’s your choice as to whether you want to go ahead and get the vehicle repaired (if it’s not a write off) before getting approval to do so from the insurance company.

Keep in mind though that if for example it costs $20,000 to repair your car, the insurance company may only offer you part of that and there is a chance that you may be out of pocket.

For this reason we recommend not getting your car fixed until the insurance company has given you the approval to do so and you know how much they are going to pay you.

They may also wish to have your vehicle assessed by an assessor of their choosing.

You should allow them to do so in our opinion.

If you’re not happy with the assessment done by their assessor then you can always obtain a further assessment.

Make sure to jump online and see what similar vehicles are being sold for. Checkout Carsales and Redbook. In relation to Redbook though, vehicles can sometimes be underassessed on there, particularly if your vehicle is unique.

Hopefully you can come to some sort of an agreement with the insurance company on vehicle value and then the matter can resolve relatively quickly.

What if I can’t reach an agreement with the insurer as to vehicle value?

If you can’t come to an agreement as to the value of the vehicle then it can be worthwhile engaging a lawyer to help you.

You can save you some money in the long run.

However, you obviously need to consider what the differences are between what you are claiming and what the insurance company is offering.

For example, if the difference is $500 then you might want to reconsider hiring a lawyer because they might cost that and then some.

But if it is tens of thousands of dollars then yes in that case hiring a lawyer will likely be worthwhile.

What if the other driver doesn’t have insurance?

If the other driver hasn’t got insurance, then you’d need to pursue them personally for any damage to your vehicle.

The first step in doing so should be to send a letter of demand which you can do yourself or alternatively, engage a lawyer to write one for you.

Essentially a letter of demand will ask the person to pay any costs that you are claiming, such as the cost of the vehicle and any related costs.

If the letter of demand doesn’t get the person to pay, then you’d need to pursue the matter to the Magistrates’ Court or VCAT.

This can be a costly exercise. So if your car is only worth a couple of thousand dollars for example, then you may not want to go down this route.

However if it makes commercial sense to do so then you should pursue the matter to court.

Keep in mind that if the court makes an order that the other person is responsible for the costs that you are claiming, if the other person does not have any money to pay you, you’ll receive nothing.

If they don’t have enough to pay you but they do have an income, one option is to ask the court to make what’s called an attachment of earnings order.

This basically means that every set period, say every week, the person will be required to pay a certain amount of money towards the debt until it is paid off.

Obviously this is not as attractive as having the whole thing paid off at once but it is better than nothing.

If you get an order against the other person and they do not pay by the time that they are supposed to pay, if they have assets then the sheriff can be called in to seize some of their property which can be sold to make good the debt.

Obviously going down this route and suing someone is something that you want to avoid because it can be a real headache but if you’re left with no other options and it makes commercial sense to do so (given the value of your vehicle) it’s an option open to you.

This is obviously the risk that you take by not having adequate insurance on your vehicle.

What if the other driver has insurance but doesn’t want to lodge a claim under their insurance?

If this is the case, and it will say this is unlikely but it can happen, then you will need to pursue the at fault driver personally in the manner referred to above.

Unfortunately you can’t compel the other driver to make a claim with her insurance company.

What can I claim from the at fault driver or their insurance company?

You should try and claim what you think is reasonable. So this means the cost of repairing the vehicle, the cost of any hire vehicles or accommodation and the cost of any damage to property that might have been damaged in the accident.

If you lost wages or income then you should also attempt to claim that.

You should attempt to claim as much as you can early on. You can always withdraw parts of your claim down the track when push comes to shove and you need to negotiate with the insurance company or the at fault driver. Including everything from the beginning puts you in a better position to negotiate.

How do I know if my car will be a write off?

If the insurance company estimates the cost of repairing the car will be greater than its value, then your car will usually be considered a write off.

The insurance company will need to value your vehicle. They may base the value on the market value of the car at the time of the accident or the insured value of the car (when previously insured).

Will the TAC pay anything towards the repair of my car?

Unfortunately, the TAC will not pay anything towards the repair of your car or any property damage that you might have incurred.

The TAC is an insurance scheme that has been set up to compensate people that have suffered injuries in motor vehicle accidents.

If however you do need modifications to a car following an accident because of an injury, they may pay for that. If your car can’t be modified, they’re responsible for contributing towards the cost of a new vehicle.

What will the TAC pay for?

If you have suffered an injury or injuries in the accident, the TAC can cover you (somewhat) for any lost wages.

They can also pay for the reasonable cost of medical and like expenses which includes any travel expenses to and from treatment.

There’s also two potential lump sum’s they will pay. The first is an impairment benefit lump sum claim where you are getting compensated for any permanent impairment you may have.

The second lump sum claim is a common law claim for damages where you are taking an action against the negligent driver.

Any compensation that is paid by the TAC and not the at fault driver.