Car Accident Lawyers Queensland.

After a car accident in Queensland, you can claim compensation for your medical and rehabilitation expenses, lost income (past and future), the cost of care and assistance, and pain and suffering — through the at-fault driver's CTP insurer.

The largest part of most claims isn't the medical bills — it's future economic loss: the income, superannuation and career progression the injury takes away from you. Care and assistance is also claimable even when it's provided unpaid by family and friends. How each of these is argued and evidenced makes an enormous difference to your final settlement, which is why two people with the same injury can receive very different amounts.

Every registered Queensland vehicle carries Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance. When a driver causes an accident, injured people — drivers, passengers, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists — claim against that driver's CTP insurer, not the driver personally.

The scheme is fault-based and overseen by Queensland's Motor Accident Insurance Commission under the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994. You lodge a Notice of Accident Claim Form with the insurer, who investigates, funds reasonable treatment, and ultimately negotiates your damages. If you don't know the at-fault driver's registration or insurer, the Queensland Government can help you find those details.

Remember: the insurer's job is to minimise what it pays. Our team includes lawyers who used to defend these claims for insurers — we know the playbook, and we use it for you.

Three deadlines matter: an Accident Notification Form within 28 days (to access early treatment funding), a Notice of Accident Claim Form within 9 months of the accident or first symptoms — or within 1 month of seeing a lawyer — and court proceedings within 3 years.

If the at-fault vehicle was unregistered or can't be identified (a hit-and-run), your claim runs against the Nominal Defendant instead — and the deadlines are far tighter: notice within 3 months, and the claim can be permanently barred after 9. Missing a CTP deadline isn't always fatal, but you'll need a reasonable excuse or the court's permission, so the safest move is simple: get advice early. Our first consultation is free.

There's no fixed figure — Queensland courts assess each claim on the injury's severity (its Injury Scale Value), your age, your earnings, and how the injury affects your ability to work and live. Recent Queensland awards we've analysed range from $5,000 to $2.49 million.

At the top end, a man seriously injured in a head-on collision was awarded $2,499,399 (Allen v O'Donnell). A cyclist knocked down by a reversing car received $633,987 (Saul v Machalek). At the other end, a self-represented claimant with a minor injury recovered just $5,000 — a cautionary tale about going it alone. Browse our CTP recent cases for real court outcomes, or use our free claim check for an estimate based on your circumstances.

Get safe and get medical attention first. Then: exchange details, photograph the scene and vehicles, get witness names, report to police if anyone was hurt, and see your GP — even for 'minor' symptoms — so your injuries are on the record from day one.

Two things to avoid: don't give a recorded statement to the at-fault driver's insurer without advice, and don't accept an early settlement offer before your injuries have stabilised. Insurers make early offers precisely because claims are usually worth more once the full picture is known.

At AMK: nothing upfront, nothing while your claim runs, and nothing at all if your claim doesn't succeed. We pay the outlays — medical reports, expert evidence — as we go, and our fees are only paid from a successful settlement.

Unlike many firms, we charge no uplift fees and no interest on outlays, and Queensland's '50/50 rule' caps legal fees so you can never receive less than half of your net compensation. Everything is set out in a plain-English Cost Agreement before you sign anything — and we'll happily give you a free second opinion on another firm's agreement.