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Stopping after a crash is a legal obligation, not a courtesy. Hazard lights on, get people out of the traffic lane if the vehicles are drivable and it is safe, and call 000 if anyone is hurt or a vehicle is blocking a lane.
Ask for the QP number or event number. That reference is the single most useful thing you can bring to a first appointment, because it lets us obtain the traffic incident report.
Registration is the one that matters most. Queensland CTP attaches to the vehicle, so the registration number is what identifies which insurer pays your claim. Photograph the licence and the plate rather than writing them down.
Both vehicles, all damage, the position on the road, skid marks, debris, the traffic signals, the weather, the street signs. Wide shots first, then close ups. Photos taken after the cars are moved prove far less.
A name and mobile number from anyone who saw it. Independent witnesses decide contested liability arguments more often than anything else, and they are unfindable a fortnight afterwards.
Go the same day or the next day. Describe every symptom, including the ones that feel minor, and say clearly that a car accident caused them. Insurers read the first medical record closely, and a symptom that appears for the first time three months in gets treated as unrelated.
Ambulance, GP, physiotherapy, medication, travel to appointments, and any medical certificate covering time off work. Out of pocket expenses and lost income are recoverable, but only what you can document.
Give the insurer your contact details. Get advice before you answer questions about how the crash happened, what your injuries are, or what you earn. Nothing is lost by waiting a few days; a lot can be lost by answering early.
This is the step that ends claims. The form must reach the CTP insurer within nine months of the accident or the first appearance of symptoms, or within one month of first instructing a lawyer, whichever is earlier. See the time limits page.
The single most common mistake. Waiting to see whether the pain settles. People wait four or five months, the symptoms do not go away, and by the time they ring a lawyer the medical record has a gap in it that the insurer uses to argue the injury came from something else. See a doctor early, and keep going.
Once the notice is lodged, the CTP insurer of the at-fault vehicle has fourteen days to tell you whether your claim is compliant, and six months from compliance to decide liability. Treatment can be funded before then in many cases. The full sequence is set out in our guide to the Queensland CTP claim process.
A hit and run, or a crash caused by a car that never stopped, is claimed against the Nominal Defendant instead of an insurer. Report it to police, record everything you remember, and get advice quickly. The notice period is three months from the accident, and a late notice needs a reasonable excuse to survive.
You must report a crash to police if anyone is injured or killed, if a driver fails to give their details, if a driver appears affected by alcohol or drugs, or if a vehicle has to be towed away. If the other vehicle cannot be identified you should report it to police as soon as you can, because a Nominal Defendant claim depends on showing you made proper enquiries.
That is extremely common with whiplash and back injuries. See a doctor as soon as symptoms appear and tell them the crash caused it. Your nine month CTP window can run from the first appearance of symptoms rather than the date of the accident, but the safest course is to treat the accident date as your deadline.
You are not required to give a recorded statement to a CTP insurer before you have advice. Give your name and contact details, then get advice before answering questions about fault, your injuries or your work history. Early answers given casually get used later.
You can still claim, through the Nominal Defendant. Report it to police, take note of anything you remember about the vehicle, look for witnesses and CCTV, and get advice quickly, because the notice period for an unidentified vehicle is three months, not nine.
Not sure whether you have a claim? Tell us what happened and we will tell you straight, at no cost. Call 07 3924 9544 or use the free claim check.