Personal Injury Claims against the Nominal Defendant

Personal Injury Claims against the Nominal Defendant

Motor vehicle accidents when the at-fault vehicle is unregistered or unidentified

In Queensland, if you are involved in a motor vehicle accident and the other driver is at fault, depending on the seriousness of your injuries, you may have a personal injury claim for damages against the at-fault driver’s Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurer. This includes if you are injured as a passenger in a vehicle; if you are pedestrian; or if you are riding a bicycle or scooter (etc).

But what happens if the at-fault driver’s vehicle is unregistered? Or what if the at-fault driver has fled the scene without being identified? In these circumstances, your claim would be against the Nominal Defendant.

What is the Nominal Defendant?

The Nominal Defendant is a statutory body who acts as the CTP insurer for at-fault vehicles that are uninsured or unidentified. In these cases, there is no identifiable party or insurance provider to seek compensation from, which is where the Nominal Defendant Scheme steps in.

Claims against the Nominal Defendant

A claim against the Nominal Defendant will have the same requirements (and potentially additional requirements) as a claim against a CTP insurer. It will be necessary to establish:

1. Whether the other driver was at fault (liability/negligence).
2. Where the ‘at fault’ driver cannot be identified, the steps taken to identify the other driver.
3. What compensation you may be entitled to because of your injuries (damages).

Liability in motor vehicle accidents is not always straight forward. Some motor vehicle accidents may include an element of contributory negligence. This means the injured person may be assigned some proportion of fault as a result of an action taken (or not taken) which contributed to the accident. Proportioning of fault does not mean an injured person is not entitled to any compensation, however the amount of compensation will be reduced depending on the percentage of fault assigned to the injured person.  

If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident and liability is not straight forward, it will be important to obtain advice from an experienced lawyer.

Notice Time Limit - If the other vehicle cannot be identified

If the Notice is being given to the Nominal Defendant because the other motor vehicle cannot be identified, the Notice must be given within 3 months after the motor vehicle accident.

However, if the Notice is not given within 3 months, the Notice can still be given to the Nominal Defendant within 9 months after the motor vehicle accident as long as a reasonable excuse for delay can be provided.

If the other motor vehicle cannot be identified and the Notice is not given to the Nominal Defendant within 9 months after the accident, the claim against the Nominal Defendant is barred. The means you will not be able to make a claim against the Nominal Defendant

Notice Time Limit - In all other circumstances 

e.g. The other vehicle is identified but unregistered.

The Notice must be given to the Nominal Defendant within 9 months after the motor vehicle accident or 1 month after the injured person first consults a lawyer (whichever period ends earlier).

If the Notice is not given to the Nominal Defendant within 9 months, the Notice can still be given to the Nominal Defendant within the general time limit (3 years from the date of the accident) as long as a reasonable excuse for delay can be provided.

If you have been involved in a motor vehicle accident and you are concerned that the time limit has elapsed, it is still worth obtaining advice from an experienced lawyer about your specific circumstances.

Summary

If you are injured in circumstances involving a motor vehicle you should obtain urgent legal advice from an experienced lawyer in order to:

1. Determine whether or not you have reasonable prospects of pursuing a claim.
2. Ensure that your Notice of Claim is provided within the strict time limits (either to the Nominal Defendant or CTP Insurer).