TAC Claims - Adviceline Injury Lawyers
FAQ
What is the Transport Accident Commission (TAC)?
The TAC was established in 1986 and is a Victorian Government-owned organisation.
Its primary role is to pay for treatment and compensation to people injured in transport accidents. The TAC obtains its funding from payments made by Victorians when they register their vehicles with VicRoads. It also has a road safety role.
The TAC is a "no-fault" scheme, which means that it will pay the medical and some other expenses of all people injured in transport accidents, even if the accident was that person’s fault.
Who is covered under the TAC?
A person who is injured as a result of a transport accident is entitled to assistance from the TAC scheme if:
- the accident occurred in Victoria; or
- the accident occurred outside Victoria (but in Australia) and involved a Victorian registered motor vehicle and at the time of the accident the injured person was:
- a Victorian resident; or
- the driver of or a passenger in, the Victorian registered vehicle.
A person who was dependant on another person who dies as the result of a transport accident is also entitled to receive benefits from the TAC.
A transport accident includes accidents due to the driving of a motor vehicle, tram, train or bus. It also includes an open or opening car door or a stationary car if the injured cyclists was cycling to work. Injuries caused by an out of control vehicle are also covered.
Can I still lodge a claim if I was driving an unregistered car, driving while unlicensed or driving while intoxicated?
You can still lodge a claim with the TAC but you will not be entitled to all of the benefits that the scheme offers.
If you are injured in a transport accident while driving an unregistered vehicle which you owned, the TAC will not pay you loss of earnings benefits for the first 18 months after the accident. You would be entitled to receive all other no fault benefits.
If you are the unlicensed driver of a vehicle and you are injured in a transport accident, the TAC will not pay you loss of earnings benefits for the first 18 months after the accident. You would be entitled to receive all other no fault benefits.
If you were driving a vehicle while intoxicated and were injured in a transport accident, your entitlement to receive loss of earnings benefits in the first 18 months will be reduced by 1/3 if your blood alcohol level was more than .05% but less that .12%. There will be a 2/3 reduction if the reading was .12% or more but less than .24%. No loss of earnings is payable if the blood alcohol reading was .24% or more.
If the alcohol played no role in causing the accident, then these reductions do not apply. The reductions only apply to drinking drivers, therefore passengers or pedestrians injured as a result of an intoxicated driver are entitled to receive full ‘no fault’ benefits from the TAC.
I have been injured in a car accident – what should I do?
You should lodge a claim form with the TAC, by calling the TAC on 1300 139 076 and informing them of the accident. Details of employment or income must also be supplied if you wish to claim for loss of earnings. The TAC will then send out a completed form which must be carefully checked and signed. It is vital that you list all of the injuries you sustained in the accident, even those that are minor at the time. You must return the claim form to the TAC for them to accept the claim.
For free initial legal advice over the telephone, call Adviceline Injury Lawyers on 9321 9988 to speak to one of our TAC solicitors.
How long do I have to make a claim?
You must lodge a claim form with the TAC within 1 year of the date of the accident, or within 3 years in exceptional circumstances. Any claim lodged after 3 years from the injury will not be accepted by the TAC and you will therefore not be entitled to TAC benefits.
What type of benefits can I receive from the TAC?
Once your TAC claim form has been accepted and you have a TAC claim number, you may be entitled to the following no-fault benefits:
- Medical and rehabilitation expenses
- Loss of earnings and loss of earning capacity payments
- Impairment benefit
These benefits are called ‘no-fault’ benefits because they are payable to people regardless of whether they caused the accident.
You may also be able to sue for your pain and suffering and loss of earnings and receive greater compensation as a result of your accident injuries.
TAC No-Fault Benefits
What medical expenses and like expenses can I claim?
If you have been injured in a car accident and your claim has been accepted, you are entitled to payment of reasonable medical and treatment expenses. This includes costs such as ambulance and hospital expenses, doctors and other medical attendances, medications and aides such as crutches. You are also entitled to personal and household support and rehabilitation costs.
These include counselling, modification to a home or car, household help, gardening and transportation. Rehabilitation services include services designed to either return you to your pre-injury job, or to re-educate or re-train you, or otherwise assist in obtaining other employment.
You can claim for travel to appointments for treatment (eg to see your GP, surgeon, physiotherapist) and also medical examinations by TAC doctors.
If you require personal and household services or transport to medical treatment, ask your GP to complete a TAC medical certificate outlining which treatment you need and send the original medical certificate to the TAC. Always keep a copy of the documents you send to the TAC for your own records.
I can’t work. How do I claim for loss of earnings payments?
The TAC won’t pay loss of earnings for the first 5 days after the accident. If you still can’t work or are working reduced hours, ask the TAC to pay loss of earnings benefits. Talk with your TAC co-ordinator and they will tell you what further information they need to assess your claim. If you are an employee, TAC need details of your employer along with payslips and tax returns.
On the basis of the information you provide, the TAC will determine your pre-injury weekly earnings, and will pay you 80% of this amount, up to a maximum of $1130. The payments will be made fortnightly. You must continue to provide the TAC with original TAC medical certificates from your GP saying that you are unfit to work, or only fit to work reduced hours because of your transport accident injuries. If you do not provide the TAC with medical certificates they will not continue to pay you loss of earnings benefits.
Loss of earnings payments continue up to 18 months after the accident. They can stop if you do not supply medical certificates to the TAC or if the TAC has some evidence that your injuries are not stopping you working.
If you have any queries with regard to claiming loss of earnings, talk with one of our TAC solicitors at Adviceline Injury Lawyers on 9321 9988.
I still cannot work 18 months after the accident. How do I claim payments?
After 18 months, a person who is unfit for work due to their transport accident injuries is eligible for payment of up to 80% of his or her net (after tax) pre-accident weekly earnings, up to a maximum of $958. These payments are called Loss of Earning Capacity payments (LOEC payments). The TAC look at the capacity that you had to earn an income and have lost due to your injuries. As it looks at capacity, some people who were not working at the time of the accident may be able to obtain loss of earning capacity benefits. To obtain LOEC payments, you must provide the TAC with medical certificates.
LOEC payments will cease for most people when it is 3 years after the date of the accident. If you still cannot work because of your transport accident injuries at this time then you can contact Centrelink.
If your impairment is assessed at 50% or over, the TAC will continue to pay you LOEC payments until you reach retirement age. They will periodically review your impairment and if your injuries improve and your impairment becomes less than 50%, the TAC can cease your LOEC payments.
What is an impairment benefit?
You may be entitled to a lump sum payment if you are left with a permanent impairment because of your injury. This is a no fault benefit, so even if the accident was your fault, you will be entitled to this benefit. The benefit is calculated in accordance with a formula depending on the level of impairment you are assessed as having. An independent doctor would need to examine you in accordance with a guide published by the American Medical Association.
To obtain a payment for your impairment benefit, you must have a whole person impairment of over 10%. If the total of your impairment from all of the doctors who examine you is 10% or less, you will not receive an impairment benefit. This benefit does not impact on your entitlement to LOE or LOEC payments, medical and like expenses, or a common law claim. You do not need to pay tax on this benefit.
How much will I receive for an impairment benefit?
Your impairment benefit is calculated according to a scale. For example, an 11% impairment = $6,450, a 20% impairment = $17,570 and a 30% impairment = $35,070. The maximum impairment benefit is approximately $300,000.
When can I bring an impairment benefit claim?
You may only bring a lump sum claim once your injury has stabilised (that is, not getting any better or worse). You would normally need to wait at least 12 months from the date of the injury before having the impairment assessed.
How long do I have to make an impairment benefit claim?
You must ask the TAC to assess your impairment within 6 years of the date of the accident. If 6 years has passed and you have not asked them to assess it, you are out of time to have your impairment assessed.
What do I do if the TAC makes a wrong decision?
If you disagree with a decision made by the TAC about any of your entitlements, you have the right to dispute that decision. You will need to engage a lawyer to issue a notice of dispute with the TAC and engage in a dispute resolution conference with the TAC. If your dispute does not settle at the meeting, you can apply to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) to review the TAC’s decision.
You have 12 months from becoming aware of the TAC’s decision to lodge a notice of dispute with the TAC and to appeal to VCAT. If you do not dispute or appeal the decision within 12 months, you are unable to challenge the decision.
If I was injured in a transport accident at work, am I covered by the TAC or by WorkCover?
If you are injured in a transport accident and you were driving in the course of your employment, your no fault benefits (such as your medical expenses, loss of earnings and impairment benefit) are covered by WorkCover.
If your injuries were caused by someone else’s negligence and have a more than significant impact on your life, you may be able to sue for your pain and suffering and loss of earnings. To obtain a serious injury certificate and the right to sue, you will need to make a serious injury application to the TAC.
If you are injured in an accident that occurred when you are travelling to or from work, your benefits come from the TAC.
My spouse or family member died in a transport accident. What can the TAC do for me?
You will first need to lodge a funeral and dependency benefits claim form with the TAC.
The TAC can pay for burial or cremation expenses. The TAC will pay up to $9,500 for the burial or cremation and up to $550 for the cost of a plaque.
The TAC can pay for family counselling services required as a result of the death. The spouse or partner, parents, children, brothers and sisters of the person who has died can access this TAC funded counselling. A registered doctor, psychologist or qualified social worker must provide the counselling service. The TAC can pay up to a maximum of $5,580 per family for counseling.
The TAC can also assist the spouse and children of a person who dies, where the spouse and children were financially dependant on that person.
The dependant spouse and/or children are entitled to receive a lump sum payment and a weekly loss of dependency benefit. The weekly benefit is payable for a period of 5 years or until the youngest dependant child completes full time education, which ever last occurs.
The maximum weekly benefit payable is currently $1,130. The maximum lump sum death benefit is currently $159,750. Dependant children also have an entitlement to an education allowance.
It is also possible to sue for the loss of income and household services that you reasonably expected to receive from the person who died. If your spouse or someone you depended upon financially has died in a transport accident, feel free to obtain expert legal advice from one of our TAC solicitors at Adviceline Injury Lawyers on 9321 9988.
The Right to Sue or a ‘Common Law Claim.’
In what circumstances can I sue for the injuries I sustained in the transport accident?
To sue for further compensation, you must show that:
- Your injuries were caused by someone else’s negligence; and
- You have a ‘serious injury.’
What is a 'serious injury?'
A serious injury can be determined through:
- having a 30% impairment; or
- the TAC agreeing that the injury was serious; or
- a Court granting permission to sue, because the injury was serious.
The law provides that if a permanent impairment of 30% or more is not assessed, you may still have suffered a serious injury where one of the following has occurred:
- there is a serious long-term impairment or loss of a body function;
- there is permanent serious disfigurement;
- there is severe long-term mental or behavioural disturbance; or
- loss of a foetus.
An inability to perform your normal work or carry out your usual activities needs to be considered when looking at whether your injury may be deemed serious.
Whether you meet any of these definitions involves an assessment of the injury and the impact of the injuries upon your daily life to see if the consequences of the injury are ‘more than significant' when compared with other cases.
How long does it take to sue for compensation?
It is very difficult to estimate how long your claim might take. The claim may only be brought after the injury is stabilised, and the medical evidence is gathered.
How long the case will take depends on things such as whether the TAC rejects or accepts the serious injury application, the complexity of the case, and whether the case settles prior to court. As a rough guide, from the date of the serious injury application (the first step) finalising a claim can take between 6 - 24 months.
How long do I have to sue?
You must sue the negligent defendant within 6 years of the date of injury. Injuries that arise over time such as psychiatric injuries should ideally be commenced within 6 years of the onset of symptoms. However, you should seek advice well before the 6 years expires, however, as preparing a case takes some time.
Even if you don't think your injury is serious, you should still obtain legal advice regarding your possible right to claim while the circumstances of your injury are fresh in your mind.
In some limited circumstances, you can make a claim more than 6 years after your date of injury, for example if you only recently became aware of the seriousness of your injury. If this is the case, it is important that you seek legal advice as soon as possible. You can call Adviceline Injury Lawyers on 9321 9988 and talk to a lawyer over the telephone.
What exactly do I sue for?
If you are granted a serious injury certificate, you can sue for your pain and suffering and your loss of earnings. Any money you receive from the court in compensation is called ‘damages.’
The amount of pain and suffering damages you can claim depends on your circumstances and the impact of your injury on your life. As a guide, the maximum amount of pain and suffering damages allowed by law is approximately $470,000. However, this is only for the very worst of injuries and most people injured in car accident receive far less than this. The amount varies according to the severity of the injury and the effect that it has had.
If you have already received an impairment benefit, this is deducted from any pain and suffering damages that you receive.
If your injuries have affected your ability to earn an income, you can also sue for your past and future loss of earnings. The maximum amount allowed by law that can be awarded for loss of earnings is currently approximately $1,065,000.The amount of damages that you receive depends entirely on the amount you can prove that you were earning prior to your injury and your earning capacity into the future.
Would I have to go to court?
When suing for damages, there are two stages in the process that could involve going to court – the serious injury application, and the trial regarding negligence.
The majority of our cases reach negotiated settlements, particularly after a serious injury certificate is granted by the TAC. Adviceline Injury Lawyers will advise you fully on your case and any risks involved prior to any court case starting.
If I receive money, will this affect my Centrelink payments?
If you receive damages for pain and suffering only, this would not affect any Centrelink payments.
If you receive compensation for loss of earnings, you may be required to pay back certain sums to Centrelink, and/or be precluded from receiving Centrelink payments for a period of time into the future. Adviceline Injury Lawyers can give you clear advice on your particular situation.
If I receive damages, will TAC stop paying my medical expenses?
No. Your entitlement to have medical expenses covered by the TAC remains the same and is not affected by you receiving damages for pain and suffering and/or loss of earnings.
Who pays the damages?
The defendant (who is the negligent person you sued) is ordered to pay the damages. However, the driver or owner of a vehicle is covered by an insurance company. Therefore the insurance company pays. If the defendant drove a Victorian registered vehicle, then the TAC is the organisation that pays your damages for pain and suffering and loss of earnings.
What will it cost me to bring a claim?
At Adviceline Injury Lawyers we will meet with you for free legal advice. You can phone or come in and discuss your claim with a lawyer and we will advise you on your rights and possible entitlements. If you need urgent legal advice, we can arrange for you to meet with a solicitor within 48 hours.
We offer a No Win, No Fee arrangement in TAC cases. That means that where we recommend you proceed with a claim and you lose, you don't have to pay for our services. For some claims, you may have to pay some disbursements. These are the bills we have paid on your file, but we keep these as low as possible and discuss all risks with you before starting the case.
