No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers live and breathe all claims relating to motor vehicle accidents, including motor accident injury claims as well as claims for the recovery of vehicle and property repair or replacement costs, arising from a motor vehicle accident.

If you have a question about an injury you have suffered in a car accident, or traffic or road incident, or you have sustained damage to your car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, trailer etc, or personal property as a result of a motor vehicle accident, then we can help. Give us a call on 1300 388 383 and we will be more than happy to assist you. You can also contact us via our Livechat Service or by submitting one of our FREE Instant Case Appraisal forms on our website.

Your enquiry will be taken by a Senior Lawyer, expert in motor accident claims and it will be FREE of any charge, totally confidential and obligation free.

To learn more about motor vehicle accident claims, click on the following link which will take you to our webpage on the subject: “Motor Vehicle Accident Injury Claims”.

If you would like to learn more about claiming for vehicle or property damage and recovering smash repair or vehicle replacement costs, then we have set out the information below to assist you.

Repercussions of a Motor Vehicle Accident

The consequences of a car accident are typically that of injury, damaged vehicles, stress and inconvenience. And if injured in a motor vehicle accident, suffering the stress of ongoing pain and debilitation, inability to work and restriction in your daily living activities, then it makes it very difficult to deal with these accident repercussions. Usually the last thing you are up to facing are arguments over the repair of your motor vehicle or property damaged in the accident.

No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers are motor accident claims experts and can help you deal with not only obtaining your compensation entitlements for your accident injuries, but we can also assist you in recovering repair and replacement costs of your damaged motor vehicle, as well as any personal property damaged in the accident, where this has become a problem.

The information below, deals with all of the varying problems that often arise when seeking recovery of motor vehicle repair or replacement costs, following a road incident, as well as important information you should be aware of if you have sustained injury in a motor vehicle accident.

You Should Report the Motor Vehicle Accident to Police

Today, reporting your car accident to police is not compulsory. The law now is that you are only required to report a motor vehicle accident to police if someone suffers injury or death in the accident. However, if you have not suffered injury in the accident, for your own protection, we would recommend that you report the motor vehicle accident to police as soon as possible.

This reporting to Police then provides a documented contemporaneous reporting of your version of how the accident happened and will help to provide you with some protection and support for your version of events, should the other accident party or parties try to lay any fault for the accident upon you.

Motor Vehicle Accident Injury

If you’ve been injured in a motor vehicle accident, even if you are being told that your injury is only minor in nature, you should still make a report of the accident to police as soon as reasonably possible. What we regularly see as personal injury lawyers are what are described as “minor injuries” following an accident, deteriorating over time and causing long term problems for the sufferer. Often, the sufferer has not taken steps to bring a claim for their injuries because they believe they’re not severe enough to have a worthwhile claim to pursue, and by the time they recognize their injuries are detrimentally impacting their lifestyle and employment, are too late to bring a claim.

We cannot impress enough the fact that even minor injuries can result in ongoing problems or major injuries later on. So you should always seek legal advice whatever your accident injury to ensure that you and your family are protected. The first step is notifying the Police of your accident as soon as possible following the event.

Minor injuries can become major injuries later on

For instance, whiplash and jarring injuries to the neck and back from a car accident are often times considered to be minor transient injuries and because they usually show some improvement in the weeks following the accident, bringing a motor accident injury claim is not contemplated. However, more often than not these conditions will cause ongoing problems, flaring up with certain activity, and deteriorating over time. In some cases the physical force or trauma of the accident results in degenerative conditions developing in the spine, causing chronic pain and restriction and even requiring spinal surgery within months or years of the accident.

Even if you have suffered what you believe or are being told is only minor injury from a motor vehicle accident, REPORT the accident to Police and to your Doctor as soon as possible. Delay in reporting can be a problem if you need to bring a motor accident claim for your injuries later on.

Time limits apply to bringing personal injury claims in Queensland. It is therefore important that you investigate whether you have a motor accident injury claim as soon as possible following your accident.

If you have sustained a motor vehicle accident injury, don’t assess your situation yourself and risk your and your family’s future financial stability. Contact us so we can properly advise you as to whether you should be bringing a motor accident claim for your injuries. It is just simply a phone call to 1300 388 383 or submitting one of our FREE Instant Claim Appraisal forms on our website to find out and it only takes a few minutes of your time.

Your enquiry is FREE of charge, 100% confidential and there is no obligation.

To learn more about motor accident injury compensation claims, go to the following link on our website: Motor Vehicle Accident Injury Claims.

Compensation for Motor Vehicle & Property Damage Following a Motor Vehicle Accident

Recovery entitlements in relation to vehicle and property damage sustained in a motor vehicle accident are as follows:

Vehicle repair costs;
Where the damage repair bill is greater than the vehicle’s market value at the time of the accident, then it will be “written off” & your recovery will be for replacement costs. In such case, you are entitled to claim the market value of your vehicle, or “Blue Book” value of the vehicle, at the time of the accident, less the vehicle wreckage value;
Where your vehicle is written off and you still have registration running on your vehicle, then you are entitled to claim a refund for any remaining registration period. You can recover this by taking your number plates to the Main Roads Department;
Towing costs incurred if the vehicle was towed following the accident;
Hire car costs where you cannot use your vehicle following the accident because it has been written off or it is being repaired. This is important when injured in an accident and you need transport for medical appointments and treatment. (You also have entitlement to recover travel costs for medical and rehabilitation treatment from the Compulsory Third Party Insurer should you bring a motor accident injury claim);
Costs of repair or replacement of personal property also damaged in the accident. Often items inside a vehicle are also damaged in the accident (eg. laptop, mobile or child’s restraint in the vehicle), and sometimes property outside the vehicle is damaged (eg. Garage doors, fences, home etc). Provided you have evidence that your property was damaged in the accident, then you are entitled to claim for the repair or replacement of that damaged property;
Shortfall Insurance – Where your vehicle is written off following an accident and the write off amount is not sufficient to cover what is still owing under a finance agreement on the vehicle, then often car finance agreements have insurances attached that kick in to pay out this shortfall, so you are not left still paying out a car loan with no vehicle.

Shortfall insurance can be very helpful where your car is written off in an accident and it’s still subject to finance. But, it is VERY IMPORTANT you are aware of the terms of your shortfall insurance before you agree to any write off amount from your comprehensive insurer, the at-fault driver or their insurer. Often the terms of such insurance includes the requirement that the shortfall insurer has to agree with the write off amount, before the obligation to pay out the shortfall owing under your finance agreement operates.

No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers can assist you with this. Make sure you speak to us before agreeing to any write off amount where your vehicle is still subject to a finance agreement.

Recovering motor vehicle repair or replacement costs

The first step in the recovery of smash repair or vehicle replacement costs following an accident is to have your vehicle damage assessed by a smash repair expert. If the damage repair bill comes in at a higher amount then the value of your vehicle at the time of the accident, then your claim will be one for vehicle replacement costs and not repair. If the repair costs are not greater than the value of the vehicle, then you will be claiming for the costs or repair of your vehicle.

The Process of Motor Vehicle Repair Costs Recovery

One quote for your vehicle damage from a Smash Repair Expert should be sufficient, unless the repair costs in that quote are disputed. When this occurs, you will need another quote to support your claim. If you are claiming through your insurer for your vehicle damage under your own comprehensive insurance policy, then there may be provision in your insurance policy whereby you are required to provide the insurer with more than one quote. The majority of car insurance companies do usually require that at least 2 quotes for vehicle repairs be provided when making a claim.

Some insurers, require the vehicle damage to be assessed by one of their own Smash Repair Assessors (usually at their own assessment centres), or they have a panel of private Panel Beaters or Smash Repairers who you’re required to use for the repair of your vehicle. This will depend on the terms of your insurance policy.

If these special requirements are stipulated in your insurance policy, then you are bound by them if you wish to recovery your vehicle repair costs from your insurer. However, if the accident was not your fault, then you have a claim against the at-fault driver or their insurer, and you aren’t then bound to use your insurer’s Panel Beaters or Smash Repairers.

Where the at-fault driver is not insured, then typically you will need to rely on your own comprehensive insurance to meet your vehicle repair or recovery costs, and you will then be bound by the terms of your insurance policy.

Recovering the costs of replacing your motor vehicle

As indicated in the above list, if your vehicle damage will cost more to repair then the value when the accident occurred, then your claim is one for vehicle replacement. If such case, you will need to obtain evidence of your vehicle’s market value at the time of the accident. This is quite a simple process. You can obtain a certificate of your vehicles value from such places as Redbook or Glass’s Guide for a small fee.

You also need to obtain evidence of the wreckage value attached to your damaged vehicle. This value will be deducted from the market value of your vehicle as the wreckage value can be recovered from sale to a wrecker. In some cases, the insurer will take possession of the wreckage and sell it for you. The wreckage value can be obtained from a Wrecker. Normally these values will be obtained by your insurer for you, if you have comprehensive insurance on your vehicle.

Time periods for claiming motor vehicle damage repair or replacement

You have 6 years from the date of the accident to recover any vehicle or property damage arising from it. You should also be aware however, that time limits are much stricter in relation to claiming compensation for injury you have sustained in a motor vehicle accident. You only have 3 years from the date of your motor vehicle accident in which to claim for any personal injuries sustained in the accident.

These time limitations are strict and it will only be in exceptional circumstances where you will be permitted to claim once they have lapsed.

How to deal with your motor vehicle insurance company

There are two primary types of motor vehicle accident insurance. There is the one that covers damage to your vehicle and other vehicles or property from an accident and this is called “Comprehensive Motor Vehicle Insurance”. The other insurance is called “Compulsory Third Party Insurance”, or “CTP Insurance”, as it is also known, and covers injury resulting from a motor vehicle accident and is part of a vehicle’s annual registration cost. This is the insurance that kicks in when you make a claim for injury compensation where you have sustained injury in a car accident. The CTP Insurer of the at-fault vehicle has to meet your compensation claim. These insurances are two very separate insurances.

There is also a third type of insurance, again dealing solely with insuring for vehicle and property damage. This is called “Third Party Insurance”. This insurance only covers damage to other vehicles in an accident, and not the vehicle over which the insurance is taken out. So if you have Third Party Insurance on your motor vehicle, and you have an accident that is your fault, then you will not be able to recover the costs for your vehicle repair or replacement from your Third Party Insurer, however, the Third Party Insurance you hold will cover the claims for the repair or replacement of other vehicles in the accident.

If you have Comprehensive Motor Accident Insurance and you are involved in an accident, to recover your vehicle repair or replacement costs, all you need do is submit your claim with your Comprehensive Motor Vehicle Insurer and your insurer will handle the claim for you. And this applies even where the accident was not your fault. Your insurer will pay out your vehicle repair or replacement costs and then deal with the at-fault driver’s insurer, or the at-fault driver if they are uninsured, to recover these costs.

Where you are required to make an Excess payment

In many cases, there is an excess payment attached to a Comprehensive or Third Party Motor Vehicle Insurance policy. This excess normally only operates where you were at fault for the accident. If it was the other driver’s fault, then that driver or their insurer will have to pay this excess payment. If you claim for your vehicle damage through your insurance company, it will claim this excess from the at-fault party’s insurer or the at-fault party for you.

Not getting along with your motor vehicle insurance company?

There are often cases where a person is not satisfied with what their insurance company is telling them about their motor vehicle damage claim. Insurers may argue with you over the value of your car repairs or your car’s replacement value, or they may refuse to meet certain claims which you feel you have entitlement to. When this happens, you should contact us so that we can assist you in dealing with your insurer and investigating what your rights and entitlements are under your insurance contract.

The At-fault Driver Doesn’t have Insurance

A nightmare scenario following a car accident is where the driver at fault doesn’t have insurance to cover the damage to the other vehicles in the accident, and accordingly, the damage bill has to be met by the at-fault driver. In most cases the at-fault driver doesn’t have the funds to meet the damage bill, and is often obstructive and uncooperative, making recovery very uncertain.

In the case where the accident was not your fault, and you have insurance covering damage to your vehicle, then your insurer will meet your car repair or replacement costs under your insurance policy. Normally, you are not required to pay any excess on your policy where the accident is not your fault, but this will depend on the terms of your insurance contract.

However, should you not have Comprehensive Insurance on your motor vehicle, then it will be up to you to pursue recovery of your vehicle damage costs from the at-fault party or their Comprehensive or Third Party insurer. If you are in this position, then this is where No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers can be of help. We can step in and look after the recovery of your vehicle damage costs on your behalf.

Recovering vehicle damage costs from the at-fault party when you don’t have an insurer to help you

In the case where you don’t have Comprehensive Insurance on your motor vehicle and the accident was not your fault, then as discussed above, it is then upon you to seek recovery for your vehicle damage from the at-fault driver’s insurer or the at-fault driver themselves where they don’t have insurance. To recover the costs for the damage to your car, motorcycle, truck, bicycle, trailer, etc., you will have to make your claims directly against the at-fault party or their insurer as follows:

Obtain a quote for the repair of your vehicle from a reputable smash repairer or panel beater. As indicated above, one quote is adequate unless the quotation is disputed and then you will need to obtain a further quote to support your claims.
If the repair costs outweigh your vehicle’s market value at the time of the accident (you will need the quote or quotes above to prove this is the case), then you will need to obtain a certificate of the value of your vehicle as indicated above . You will also need a valuation of the wreckage as this will be taken from your vehicle’s market value when calculating what your compensation amount should be for the loss of your vehicle (or the at-fault driver or their insurer can agree to take possession of the wreckage and pay you in full for the market value of your vehicle).
Once you have this information, where the at-fault driver has insurance, then you lodge these documents and your claim with the at-fault party’s insurer who will then deal with the claim directly with you.
Where you are not aware of the at-fault driver’s insurance company, OR, the at-fault party does not have insurance, then you send these documents along with a letter of demand for payment to the at-fault party directly. If the at-fault driver has insurance, they will then refer the matter on to their insurer to deal with.
If the at-fault driver is not being co-operative in response to your demands for payment of your vehicle damage costs, then you will need to bring legal proceedings to enforce compliance and obtain recovery.
It is not unusual for the at-fault party’s insurance company to be uncooperative with your demands for payment and in such case, legal proceedings will be required to enforce recovery of your vehicle repair or replacement costs.

Where the at-fault party has no insurance or assets to meet your vehicle repair costs

The worst case scenario when seeking recovery of vehicle repair or replacement costs following an accident that is not your fault, is where the other party is uninsured to meet your demands. This is because, in a majority of cases the at-fault party does not have the funds to meet your repair or replacement costs. When this occurs, unfortunately trying to enforce your entitlements is a futile exercise as you will simply be spending money on legal proceedings against the at-fault driver, who will not be able to meet any award or judgment that you achieve.

If this is happening to you, then you should CONTACT US at No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers so that we can advise you of what your recovery prospects are. We can investigate whether there is a viable claim against the at-fault driver.

Arguments Over Who Caused the Motor Vehicle Accident

Often, in claims for recovery of smash repair or vehicle replacement costs, there are arguments over who caused the accident. This is particularly so when the at-fault driver has a large excess on their comprehensive insurance policy, or they have no comprehensive insurance at all.

If you have insurance, then your insurer will be handling your claim and it will be for them to fight with the at-fault driver or their insurer, over who was at fault for the accident. If at any time you are not happy with or in agreement with what your insurer is telling you about accident blame, then, as indicated above, you should contact us for legal advice.

In the case where you don’t have insurance and are dealing with the claim yourself, then again, you will need expert advice. We can advise you as to the validity of the claims being made by the at-fault driver and assess whether there is any substance to them. It may be that there will need to be some agreement as to the liability apportionment between drivers where there is some substance to the other driver’s claims. If this is appropriate, then you don’t lose your right to recover your vehicle damage costs, it will simply mean there will be some reduction in recovery to allow for any proportionate liability for the accident occurring.