Personal Injury
Motorcycle Accident Claims

Yes definitely. Even if you were at fault, or partly at fault, you are still entitled to receive compensation for your injuries, namely medical expenses, loss of income. If you are seriously injured your claim will include compensation for pain and suffering, loss of earnings and loss of earning and working capacity.

Because injuries suffered by motor cyclists are generally so serious, it often happens that the police investigating the accident will not be able to obtain a statement from you. Accordingly, the only version that the police receives is from the driver of the motor vehicle. Police reports often state that the motor cyclist was at fault, when that was not the case at all.

Therefore, it is very important that you contact an expert personal injury lawyer as soon as possible after the accident to discuss the claims process, to take the stress from you of dealing with the compulsory third party/greenslip insurer, to advise you on liability (ie fault) and the amount of compensation to which you are probably entitled, and negotiating a settlement with the insurer or its lawyers in due course.

Yes, definitely. It is a false economy to try and do it yourself, because at Stacks Goudkamp, we act on a no win, no pay basis so that you don’t pay us anything if your claim is unsuccessful. Besides, if your claim is successful the compulsory third party greenslip insurer, will have to pay most of your legal expenses.

At Stacks Goudkamp we pride ourselves on never leaving our injured clients out of pocket. We work hard to ensure that our clients receive the maximum compensation available.

As motorcyclists injured in accidents are generally adults, rather than minors, there is obviously no need, no matter how serious the injury, to wait until the injured person has reached adulthood before finalising the claim.

Some claims can be finalised quickly. For example, if the injuries suffered are relatively minor.

However, with serious injuries such as leg fractures (the most common injuries suffered by motor cyclists involved in collisions with motor vehicles), brain injury or spinal cord injuries it is prudent and sensible to wait until the injuries have sufficiently stabilised so that a fairly accurate prediction can be made in relation to future losses before the claim is finalised.

That is because common law damages claims are finalised on a once and for all basis, by way of a single lump sum payment. There is no coming back for more, if the injured person’s condition deteriorates later in life and this deterioration has not been taken into account in the settlement.

Generally, the average time taken to complete a motorcycle accident personal injury claim is between 2 and 3 years.

If you are totally or mostly to blame for the accident, your entitlement to Statutory Benefits will be very limited.

If you are totally to blame for the accident you will have no right to receive Common Law damages. If, on the other hand, you are partly responsible for the accident, meaning that the driver of the motor vehicle was also at fault, you will be entitled to receive compensation which will be reduced by the percentage of your culpability, ie blame.

This is called contributory negligence. The insurer bears the onus of proving, on the balance of probabilities, your degree of contributory negligence. You bear the onus of proving, on the balance of probabilities, that the driver of the motor vehicle was totally or partly at fault.

The most common allegations of contributory negligence levelled at injured motor cyclists include:

• Riding too fast in the circumstances.
• Failing to break, swerve or take out some other evasive action to avoid the collision.
• Failing to keep any or any proper lookout.
• Riding a motorcycle whilst intoxicated.
• Failing to wear a helmet (if the primary injury is a head injury).
• Failing to wear appropriate protective clothing, including proper footwear (relevant if the injuries involve feet or legs).

Yes. Stacks Goudkamp has offices throughout New South Wales. Our lawyers are prepared to travel throughout the Sydney metropolitan area, regional New South Wales or throughout Australia to see clients who have been seriously injured in motorcycle accidents.

Every vehicle in New South Wales should be covered by what is called greenslip or compulsory third party – CTP insurance. If a vehicle is, for whatever reason, not covered by insurance, the compensation claim is directed to the Nominal Defendant under the Nominal Defendant Fund to ensure that injured motor cyclists are not deprived of compensation simply because the motor vehicle was not insured.

In cases where the motor cyclist is unable to identify the vehicle which caused the accident the claim is also brought against the Nominal Defendant. A prerequisite for a successful claim is for due enquiry and search to be made to try and identify the motor vehicle involved in the collision as soon as possible, before the trail goes cold.

In such cases it is extremely important for the injured motor cyclist to contact an experienced and expert personal injury lawyer as soon after the accident as possible to conduct the due enquiry and search. This is normally done by publishing notices in various newspapers calling on witnesses to come forward. Failure to conduct due enquiry and search in a timely fashion can be fatal to a claim, even where the motor cyclists have suffered devastating injuries.