Pedestrian Hit by a Car: Your CTP Rights in NSW
Being struck by a car while you are on foot is frightening and often serious. Pedestrians have no protection in a collision, so the injuries tend to be worse than in most road accidents, and the aftermath can be overwhelming, physically, emotionally and financially. In the middle of all that, it is easy to assume that because you were not in a vehicle, the road accident compensation system does not apply to you. It does.
If you have been hit by a car anywhere in New South Wales, you have rights under the compulsory third party, or CTP, scheme, and those rights exist whether the driver stopped or not, and even in some cases where the accident was partly your own doing.
This guide explains your CTP rights as an injured pedestrian, what you can claim, what happens if the driver cannot be found or was uninsured, how being partly at fault affects your claim, and the support available for the most serious injuries. Please treat it as general information rather than advice about your own claim, and you should seek legal advice about your particular situation before making decisions about it.
Are pedestrians covered by CTP after being hit by a car?
Yes. The CTP scheme in New South Wales, set up by the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (NSW) and regulated by the State Insurance Regulatory Authority, known as SIRA, covers people injured by a motor vehicle, and that includes pedestrians. Your claim is generally made against the CTP insurer of the vehicle that hit you.
One feature of the scheme is particularly important for pedestrians. For an initial period, you can access benefits regardless of who was at fault. That means income support and treatment can begin soon after the accident even before any question of blame is sorted out, which matters enormously when you are injured and unable to work.
So being on foot rather than behind the wheel does not put you outside the system. If anything, pedestrians are among the people the scheme is most needed by, because their injuries are so often severe.
What you can claim as an injured pedestrian
An injured pedestrian can access the same two types of entitlement as any other injured road user, and it helps to understand the difference.
Statutory benefits are the early, practical support. They provide weekly payments to replace lost income if you were working and cannot now do so, and they cover reasonable and necessary treatment and care related to your injury, such as hospital costs, surgery, physiotherapy and rehabilitation. These are available regardless of fault for an initial period.
Common law damages are a separate lump sum for the longer term cost of a more serious injury. They depend on the driver having been at fault, and on your injuries being more than threshold injuries, and they compensate your past and future loss of earnings, with an additional amount for pain and suffering if your permanent impairment is greater than 10 per cent. Because pedestrian injuries are often serious, this second track is relevant more often than it is for many other road users.
Who you claim against
Pedestrian accidents throw up more variety than most, so it helps to know who your claim is actually made against in different situations.
| Your situation | Who you generally claim against |
|---|---|
| The driver is identified and insured | The CTP insurer of the vehicle that hit you |
| The driver did not stop or cannot be identified | The Nominal Defendant |
| The vehicle was uninsured | The Nominal Defendant |
| You were partly at fault | You still claim, though your damages may be reduced for contributory negligence |
If the driver did not stop, or was uninsured
Pedestrians are, sadly, more likely than most to be the victim of a driver who does not stop. If the vehicle that hit you cannot be identified, for example in a hit and run, or if it turns out to have been uninsured, you are not left without a claim. In those situations you can make a claim against what is called the Nominal Defendant, a scheme that steps in where there is no identified insurer to claim against.
There is an important condition attached. Where the vehicle is unidentified, you are generally expected to have made reasonable efforts to identify it, such as reporting the accident to police, noting anything you can about the vehicle, and seeking out witnesses or nearby camera footage. The same deadlines apply as for any CTP claim, so reporting the accident and lodging promptly matters just as much here.
If you were partly to blame
Pedestrian accidents often involve some question about the pedestrian’s own care, perhaps crossing away from a marked crossing, stepping out against a light, or not seeing an approaching car. It is important to understand that being partly at fault does not necessarily end your claim.
Where you were partly responsible, the law generally reduces your damages by a percentage reflecting your share of the blame, rather than removing your entitlement altogether. This is called contributory negligence. So a pedestrian who was partly at fault may still recover damages, just reduced to account for their own contribution.
There is a line, though. If you were wholly or mostly at fault for the accident, your statutory benefits generally stop after the first 52 weeks, and a common law damages claim will not be available. The distinction between being partly at fault, which reduces a claim, and being mostly at fault, which limits it, can be significant, and it is often contested, which is one reason these situations are worth getting advice on rather than assuming the worst.
Consider a brief example. A pedestrian crosses mid block and is struck by a car that was speeding. She was not using a nearby crossing, so there is an argument she contributed to the accident, but the driver’s speed was a major cause. Her damages may be reduced to reflect her share of responsibility, rather than refused outright. This example is illustrative only and every claim depends on its own facts.
Serious and catastrophic injuries
Because a pedestrian has no protection in a collision, these accidents cause a high proportion of serious and catastrophic injuries, including brain injuries, spinal injuries, multiple fractures and amputations.
For the most severe injuries, there is an additional layer of support. The Lifetime Care and Support Scheme, administered by icare, provides for the treatment, rehabilitation and care needs of people catastrophically injured in motor accidents in NSW, such as those with severe brain or spinal cord injuries, and it does so regardless of who was at fault. This can provide lifelong support for care needs that would otherwise be impossible to meet, and it can operate alongside a claim for other losses. If you or a family member has suffered a catastrophic injury as a pedestrian, this is an important entitlement to ask about early.
Children injured as pedestrians
Many pedestrian accidents involve children, who can be unpredictable near roads and are especially vulnerable. Children injured as pedestrians can claim under the CTP scheme, and a parent or guardian can pursue a claim on their behalf. The law also tends to approach questions of fault differently for young children, recognising that a child cannot be expected to exercise the same care as an adult. If your child has been hurt as a pedestrian, it is well worth getting advice about their entitlements, as their claim may extend to future losses that are not obvious at the time.
What to do after a pedestrian accident
The steps below protect both your health and your claim.
- Get medical attention promptly, and make sure all of your injuries are recorded, including any that emerge in the days after the accident.
- Report the accident to police within 28 days and obtain an event number, which is especially important if the driver did not stop.
- Note everything you can about the vehicle and driver, and gather the details of any witnesses or nearby cameras.
- Lodge your claim within 28 days to have income support backdated to the accident, and within three months at the latest.
- Keep records of your treatment, your expenses and how the injury is affecting you.
- Get legal advice early, particularly if your injuries are serious, the driver was not identified, or there is any suggestion you were at fault.
How Stephen Young Lawyers can help
Pedestrian claims can be more complicated than other road accident claims, because they more often involve serious injuries, drivers who did not stop, and arguments about whether the pedestrian was partly to blame. Each of those raises questions that are worth having an experienced hand on.
An experienced personal injury lawyer makes sure your claim is lodged correctly and on time, pursues the right party whether that is an insurer or the Nominal Defendant, ensures your injuries are fully documented, and pushes back on unfair arguments about contributory negligence. Where injuries are serious, we can advise on a common law damages claim and, in catastrophic cases, on lifetime care support.
If you want to understand the process more broadly, we have guides on how to make a CTP claim in NSW, on statutory benefits versus common law damages, and on disputing a threshold injury decision. If your injuries have permanently affected your ability to work, a Total and Permanent Disability claim through your superannuation may also be available, and you can read about your broader options on our motor vehicle accident claims page. As an Accredited Specialist personal injury firm based in Sydney CBD, with a multilingual team and a No Win No Fee approach for eligible matters, we can review your situation and tell you where you stand.
No lawyer can promise you a particular outcome, and every claim turns on its own facts. What can be said is that being on foot does not put you outside the scheme, and that even a difficult pedestrian claim is usually worth having assessed properly.
Speak with an experienced motor accident lawyer today
If you have been hit by a car as a pedestrian anywhere in New South Wales, do not assume you have no claim, and do not let the 28 day deadline pass before you act.
Contact Stephen Young Lawyers today for a free, no obligation consultation. Call us or get in touch through our website to speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer about your accident and your options.