Car Accident Lawyers Perth for
Motor Vehicle Accident Injury Claims

Step 1 – Receive Appropriate Medical Treatment for Your Motor Vehicle Accident Injuries You should attend a hospital and or appropriate medical practitioner to ensure that you receive adequate treatment for your injuries. It is likely that you will also need to attend your general practitioner, physiotherapist and possibly psychologist for treatment until the symptoms of your injuries have fully resolved or reached maximum improvement. You need to keep a record of the treatment you receive and keep copies of all invoices relating to the cost of your treatment. We recommend that you keep a diary detailing the symptoms of your motor vehicle accident injuries and the treatment you receive. The invoices can be submitted to the Insurance Commission of Western Australia with a request for reimbursement. It is very important that you prioritise your recovery and be diligent in attending all of the recommended appointments with appropriate medical practitioners. Step 2 – Report the Motor Vehicle Accident by completing a crash report If you are the owner or the driver of a motor vehicle that is involved in a motor vehicle accident you are required to report it as soon as possible after the accident. You do not need to attend a police station or contact the Insurance Commission of Western Australia to report the motor vehicle accident. You can complete a crash report on this website: https://www.crashreport.com.au/ocrf/ In order to complete a crash report, you will need the following information: - the date, time and location of the motor vehicle accident; - the licence plate numbers of the vehicles that were involved in the motor vehicle accident (if known); - the names and addresses of all of the parties involved in the motor vehicle accident (if known); and - the names and addresses of any witnesses of the motor vehicle accident (if known). Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or require assistance with completing the crash report. If you are not sure of any of the details requested in the online crash report form, it is better for you to leave the relevant section(s) blank rather than trying to guess. After you have submiited the crash report you will receive an email with a receipt number and a copy of the crash report. You will also subsequently receive a letter from the Insurance Commission of WA within a few weeks advising you whether liability for your claim has been accepted and if so, provding you with a claim number. You can provide the receipt number and claim number to your treating medical practitioner(s) and request that they send their tax invoices directly to the Insurance Commission of Western Australia for payment. Step 3 – Contact us for Assistance Once you have reported the accident you should consider contacting us, so that we can conduct an assessment of your claim and provide you with our initial advice. If we are able to assist you, we will arrange a meeting with you to take your instructions with respect to how the accident occurred and regarding the nature and extent of your injuries and losses. At that meeting we will explain our costs and enter a costs agreement with you. We will then assist you with the conduct of your claim until the matter is finalised. Step 4 - Notify the Insurance Commission of Western Australia That we are Acting on Your Behalf We will contact the Insurance Commission of Western Australia to notify them that we are instructed to act on your behalf with respect to your claim. We will request that they provide us with a copy of their file and advise whether liability for your claim has been accepted. Step 5 – Gather Evidence in Support of Your Claim We will assist you with gathering evidence for your claim so as to ensure you receive the maximum amount that you are entitled to for the losses you suffer as the result of your motor vehicle accident injuries. We will obtain copies of your treatment records from the hospital, your general practitioner, your physiotherapist, your psychologist and any other relevant medical treatment providers. Often, we will recommend that we be instructed to obtain medical reports from suitably qualified independent medical experts, such as orthopaedic surgeons, neurosurgeons and psychiatrists. These reports will be provided to the Insurance Commission of Western Australia, will be referred to in settlement negotiations and tendered as evidence if a Court hearing is necessary, which is highly unlikely. If you have been unable to work as a result of your motor vehicle accident injuries, we will obtain documentary evidence of your loss of income to provide to the Insurance Commission of Western Australia in support of a loss of income claim. If necessary, we can assist you to make an application for an advance payment of your loss of income, so that you receive some income whilst you are recovering from your injuries and waiting for your claim to be finalised. Step 6 – Meeting Before Informal Settlement Conference Once your injuries have resolved or stabilised, we will arrange a meeting with you to discuss your claim, the evidence, tactics and our opinion regarding the settlement amount you might expect to receive by way of compensation for your injuries and losses. If necessary, we will obtain further evidence in support of your claim, so as to ensure we can prove the full extent of your injuries and losses. Step 7 – Attend an Informal Settlement Conference With the Insurance Commission of Western Australia (Sometimes we will advise a client that it is more appropriate to skip this Step 7 and proceed to Step 8.) We will arrange an informal settlement conference with an officer of the Insurance Commission of Western Australia. You will attend the informal settlement conference with us. Your role at the informal settlement conference will simply be to provide settlement instructions to us. You will not be required to meet the officer from the Insurance Commission of Western Australia. We will negotiate with the officer from the Insurance Commission of Western Australia on your behalf in the hope of agreeing a settlement amount that you are happy to accept in full and final settlement of your claim. We will advise you as to whether you should accept or reject any settlement offers and with respect to making appropriate counter offers. If you decide to accept a settlement offer that the Insurance Commission of Western Australia makes, your claim will then be settled and finalised. If you do not accept the Insurance Commission of Western Australia’s final offer, it will be necessary to commence legal proceedings. Step 8 – Commence Legal Proceedings in the District Court of WA If it has not been possible to settle your claim at the Informal Settlement Conference, or it was appropriate not to attend one, it will be necessary for us to commence legal proceedings in the District Court of Western Australia naming the at-fault driver as the defendant. Once legal proceedings have been commenced and the necessary paperwork has been filed and served, the Court will make orders for you and the defendant (who will be represented by their insurer, the Insurance Commission of Western Australia and their solicitors) to attend a Pre-Trial Conference to try to settle your claim before a trial. The vast majority of claims (99 % +) are resolved by of a settlement at the Pre-Trial Conference or before the conclusion of a trial. If your claim does not settle, we will prepare your matter for trial, so that the Court can be presented with all of the relevant evidence, make a finding regarding liability (if required) and assess the amount of damages (compensation) that you are entitled to.