Published: 02 August 2019
Author: Stringer Clark TAC Law team

What you can claim if injured in a motor vehicle accident – wages and expenses

Regardless of whether the accident was your fault or not, you could well be entitled to reimbursement for all of your medical and hospital expenses and any loss of income if you are laid off work for more than five days.

One of the most common questions I’m asked about TAC compensation by people who have been injured is about ambulance expenses, which makes sense, because it is often the very first medical expense incurred, and it is almost always a large one.

For example, I recently saw a man who was hit by a car while riding his motorbike. My client was in work, but on a casual basis, and had been told by his doctor that he would have to take some time off work to recover. This would have left him without income with the medical bills starting to roll in.

The first expense he faced was for the ambulance, and not unusually, it amounted to several thousand dollars.

I reassured him that the ambulance bill would be paid by the TAC. Further, that as long as his medical and rehab bills were reasonable, the TAC would also cover the cost of these, as well as replacement income while he was unable to work, even though he was employed as a casual.

Here is a short checklist of the types of expenses and entitlements you can claim from the TAC:

• Medical and hospital expenses
• Rehabilitation expenses
• Nursing and disability expenses
• Attendant care – (nursing care and assistance with activities related to daily living)
• Post acute support services
• Replacement income – whether it be full time, part time or casual
• Expenses arising from a death (including a possible dependency claim)
• Lump sum payments – in the event you are left with a permanent injury.

Importantly, if you have been seriously injured and the accident was caused by someone else's negligence, you may also be eligible to sue for common law damages for pain and suffering and loss of earnings.

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