The claimant was born in 1970 and resides in Country NSW with his wife and children. He is educated to Year 10 and whilst he attempted various positions ultimately he was employed as a Contract Truck Driver. In 2007 whilst driving his truck he sustained injuries to his left wrist, two pelvic fractures and soft tissue injuries. He also suffered significant psychological injuries following the accident which inturn led to an increase in his alcohol consumption.
As a result of the accident, the claimant’s partner contacted the offices of Gerard Malouf & Partners for the purposes of seeking Advice in relation to whether or not her partner had a viable compensation claim. A conference was arranged for one of our experienced solicitors to see the claimant at his home on the North Coast and a Personal Injury Claim Form was completed and thereafter submitted to the relevant CTP Insurer who accepted Liability for the claim.
Once all the medical evidence was obtained on behalf of the claimant an offer of settlement was conveyed to the insurer and various attempts were made to resolve the matter by way of an informal settlement conference. Unfortunately, the insurer were not being realistic and were not offering the correct sum of money and for that reason the matter was unable to be resolved.
The matter was then prepared to go before a CARS Assessor who was responsible for considering all of the material that was submitted before him and then issuing a decision. On the day of the Assessment Hearing the insurer offered the claimant the sum of $170,000.00 which he rejected, preferring to have the CARS Assessor to determine the matter. After hearing all of the evidence and considering all of the material the CARS Assessor awarded the claimant the sum of $334,000.00 plus costs.
The claimant was compensated for his past and future wage loss, his past and future treatment expenses and his past and future care. The claimant was not entitled to pain and suffering as his injuries were less than 10% Whole Person Impairment.
The settlement represented an excellent result for the claimant given the attitude that the insurer had taken to settlement and given the value that they were placing on the file. By proceeding to a CARS Assessment Hearing the claimant achieved a much higher result and was thrilled with the outcome.
If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident claim and you are not sure whether or not you have any entitlements then please feel free to contact the offices of Gerard Malouf & Partners Compensation Lawyers. We are a highly specialised legal team, specialising in Personal Injury type matters and can offer you the right advice and service in order for you to maximise your claim for compensation against the CTP Insurers. Please call our toll free number on 1800 004 878.
