Motorcycle accidents in Queensland

Motorcycle injury compensation claims in Queensland

If you suffered serious injuries in a motorcycle accident in Queensland, you may be entitled to significant compensation, through a CTP claim. We have written this comprehensive motorcycle injury claim guide to explain your entitlements, time limitation issues and the steps you should take to bring your claim. In most claims we can act on a no win no fee basis and cap our fees at 25%.

Written and reviewed by Oszkar Denes, personal injury lawyer

Your entitlement to damages in a motorcycle injury claim in Queensland

Rehabilitation costs upfront

After you make a CTP claim, we get the CTP insurance company to fund your reasonable rehabilitation costs upfront, so you are not out of pocket. (Physio, surgeries, psychological counselling and so on.)

Pain and suffering

You are entitled to damages to compensate for your pain and suffering. This is paid as part of the overall settlement and the amount depends on the severity of your injuries.

Lost income (past and future)

Your loss of income is recoverable. This extends to any ongoing loss of earning capacity – all the way to retirement age.

Super

You are entitled to recover any lost superannuation contributions (including future) on top of your income loss claim.

Ongoing medical expenses

Medical expenses which you incur now or in the future can also be claimed. This includes specialist fees, surgeries, aids, medication and so on.

Other damages

You may be entitled to damages for gratuitous care. You may qualify for TPD or super pay outs. You may also qualify for NIISQ benefits.

Read below about our 25% fee cap. We’d be happy to discuss your situation. Please reach out to us here.

Queensland motorcycle accidents - your entitlements explained in detail

Who was at fault?

To be able to make a CTP claim, it is necessary to prove that the accident was somebody else’s fault. This is called negligence. For example, a situation which commonly occurs is that you ride in your lane and all of a sudden, a car cuts in and hits your motorbike, causing you to fall. In this case, the driver of the other vehicle is at fault.

In addition to CTP claims, sometimes alternative claim avenues are also available. For example, we have experience in cases where the accident occurs not because of another driver, but because of the road conditions. Think of road works where the company in charge leaves too much loose gravel on the resurfaced road and fails to clean it up for days. This is not a problem for cars, but it can seriously affect motorcycle riders. If the road is unsafe a compensation claim can be brought against the company which was in charge of the resurfacing works.

Multiple injuries caused by motorcycle accidents

One feature of motorcycle accidents is that they often lead to multiple injuries, such as multiple fractures affecting several limbs – all at the same time. The practical consequence of this is that, at least for a period of time, you completely lose your capacity to work. For this reason, it is very important to consider any other alternative source of income which may be available to draw on while you recover. This may include potentially making a workers’ compensation claim (if the accident happened on the way to or from work), an income protection claim or applying to Centrelink.

Psychological impact of motorcycle accidents

Another issue facing our clients is the psychological impact of the accident. We see our clients being concerned not just about whether they are going to recover, but whether they are going to ever ride their motorbike again. Not being able to ride your bike again leads to significant lifestyle changes and the psychological impact must be considered as part of the claim.

Rehabilitation expenses

Particularly in motorcycle accident cases, it’s really important to access rehabilitation services as soon as possible to get you in a position where you are able to return to work in some capacity. The cost of rehabilitation services can be expensive. For example, surgery costs, numerous physiotherapy appointments, other therapy (such as hand therapy) and psychological counselling. There are other expenses too that can add up, such as repeat radiology imaging.

In a CTP claim, the insurance company must fund rehabilitation expenses upfront. This means you should not be out of pocket in accessing these services. There are generally two issues with respect to funding rehabilitation:

Getting funding approval quickly. Making a CTP claim without delay can ensure that you can apply for funding at an early stage, thereby you minimise your out of pocket expenses.
Disputes whether particular services are reasonable. Sometimes the CTP insurer tries to deny paying for expenses alleging that they are unreasonable. For example, your doctors might say that you need surgery, but the CTP insurer gets another doctor who says that surgery is unnecessary. As part of conducting your claim, we ensure that we obtain all necessary evidence to support any rehabilitation funding requests. We have further information about this particular issue which you can access here.

Catastrophic injuries and NIISQ

Motorcycle accidents unfortunately sometimes lead to catastrophic injuries, including traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury or amputations. You may be eligible to receive benefits from the National Injury Insurance Scheme Queensland (NIISQ). The NIISQ is run by the Queensland Government, and it provides benefits to people who suffered serious injuries in a motorcycle accident. You don’t need to prove that someone else was at fault to access this system.

Time frames

Please note, this is just general information. The rules about timeframes and limitation periods are complicated and you should seek legal advice.

Three years

After a motorcycle accident, you have 3 years to bring proceedings in court. However, there are other important time frames which must also be complied with (see below).

Nine months

You have to give a notice of claim to the CTP insurance company within 9 months of the motorcycle accident. If you consult a lawyer, then you must give notice within one month of that consultation. Whichever is the earlier date of these two time frames will apply. If you miss the time frames to give a notice of claim, it is not necessarily fatal, but you have to provide a reasonable excuse for the delay.

Unidentified vehicle

If the vehicle which caused the accident is unidentified then you must give a notice of claim within 3 months to the nominal defendant. The nominal defendant will then act as the CTP insurer for your claim.

If the vehicle is unidentified and you do not give a notice of claim to the nominal defendant within 9 months, then your claim is statute barred (in other words, even if you have a reasonable excuse for the delay in not giving a notice of claim within 3 months, after nine months you lose your compensation entitlements no matter what).

Keep in mind that if the vehicle is unidentified, you must continue to make reasonable searches to identify the vehicle.

Oszkar’s perspective

Two big challenges after a motorcycle accident

After acting in .

Too often, it’s the rider who gets blamed. Sometimes it’s the at fault driver who feels like they have an excuse: “I was changing lanes and the bike came from nowhere…”. Other times it’s the CTP insurer who will come up with an argument – for example that the injury wouldn’t have happened if you had worn better protective gear. (Of course, the injury would not have happened if the at fault driver hadn’t been negligent.) The point is, because we understand that liability is often disputed in motorcycle accident claims, we take all necessary measures to prove your claim – including investigating the circumstances, speaking with witnesses, and if necessary, even engaging traffic incident experts.

Severe injuries are more common. Riders have less protection than people sitting in cars. Because of this, the consequences of a motorcycle accident are often much more severe. These accidents can result in serious head injuries, including traumatic brain injury. They can also result in spinal cord injuries, as well as serious leg and foot injuries and amputations. My firm has the knowledge and resources to ensure we have all medical evidence to understand the long term impact of your injuries – all with a view to maximise your compensation entitlement.

simple client agreement

25% cap on professional fees

In most motorcycle accident claims, we offer to cap our professional fees at 25% of all inclusive settlements.

We don’t charge uplift fees and you don’t have to pay any expenses upfront.

There are some situations in which the 25% fee cap does not apply. Read our clear explanation below.

Frequently asked questions

QPS (police) says I was at fault. Can I still make a claim?

Yes, you can still bring a claim. After an accident, the QPS may attend the scene and when they write a report, they might make a comment about who was at fault. This is often based on insufficient evidence, particularly when the QPS may have a bias against motorcycle riders. We thoroughly investigate the circumstances of each claim, and if we consider that you were not at fault, we can pursue a claim on your behalf.

How do I arrange rehabilitation for my injuries?

You would generally start with getting a referral from your GP to the rehabilitation provider (i.e. this can be a physiotherapist, a psychologist or even a specialist). You then get a quote from the service provider which is then submitted to the insurance company for approval. In more complex cases, more evidence may be needed to support a claim for rehabilitation funding, which we can assist with.

I was involved in motorbike accidents before. Can I still claim or will the insurer say it must have been my fault?

Yes, you can still bring a claim. Just because you had been involved in prior motorcycle accidents does not disqualify you.

Can I get compensated for the damage to my motorbike?

Hopefully the motorbike was insured. If so, you make a separate claim under the motorbike insurance. If there was no insurance, you can still recover the damage to the motorbike, but it would have to be a separate civil claim outside of the compensation claim.

How long does the claim take?

On average, between 12 to 18 months. Claims which involve serious injuries can take longer. This is because it takes more time for the injuries to get to a stage where medical experts can assess the long term consequences.

I was wearing a helmet but no other protective gear. Can I still bring a claim?

Yes, you can make a compensation claim.

I want to get back on my motorbike. Does this affect my claim?

No, if you can ride your bike safely then just because you have a claim on foot should not stop you from doing so.

I am now wheelchair bound. Is there any point in making a claim rather than just staying with NIISQ?

If the accident was somebody else’s fault, then there are good reasons to make a claim. First of all, while NIISQ provides important benefits, it does not pay damages for loss of income (which can be very significant), pain and suffering and some other items. Secondly, it may also be possible to convert the benefits which you are receiving from NIISQ into one lump sum amount so that you don’t depend on NIISQ forever. Whether it’s worthwhile doing so depends on the individual circumstances of each case and you should seek legal advice about this. Bear in mind there are important time frames when NIISQ is involved, so seek advice as soon as possible.

I was in a single vehicle accident. I feel the road was unsafe. Can I claim and if so from whom?

You can potentially make a claim against the local council or whoever was in charge of the road. We will have to investigate the circumstances in detail to advise whether a compensation claim is viable.

Free book offer: what to expect in your injury claim

Many firms try to rush you to sign up with them without carefully considering your options. We encourage you to first learn about your personal injury claim. You should ask yourself:

How do you calculate your compensation amount?
How should you choose your lawyer? Do you just choose by firm name regardless of who is really in charge of your matter? Has your lawyer ever argued a case in court?
What is a no win – no fee agreement? How much will it cost?

Our book is available to you free of charge. You don’t have to be a client to receive this book. Head to the order page and we will be happy to send you a copy straight away.

Every client and case is unique—we’re here to help you make the right legal decisions.

Prefer to speak with someone directly?

Call us on (07) 3063 2268 and we’ll be happy to discuss your matter.

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