How to know if you can bring a Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) claim

Mar 24, 2023 | Publication

If you have sustained an injury or disability due to the fault of another, it is likely that you are entitled to some form of compensation. What compensation you may receive will depend on the manner in which you sustained your injury or disability and whether the other party can be held accountable for any wrongdoing.

Usually, when someone sustains serious injuries or disabilities, people may seek compensation from CTP Insurance (motor vehicle accident matters), Workers Compensation benefits (work injury matters) and/or common law claims lodged with a Court for personal injury.

Often, people forget that they may ALSO be entitled to compensation payable through policies already held by them such as superannuation, permanent disability insurance and/or income protection. At times, such benefits are paid in a lump sum form- eg Total and Permanent Disability compensation (TPD). Alternatively, benefits may be paid by regular payments for a period of time- eg income protection.

People also may not realise that there is no need to overcome the burden of proving another party’s fault in order to access this form of compensation. Although policies differ, usually one must prove that the injury and/or disability is significant, permanent and results in an inability to work. This is likely to be established with the assistance of medical practitioners and your medical records.

We recommend that you review any policies you may have whereby you may be covered in the event of an injury and/or permanent disability. Policies may be lengthy and complex, so we also recommend that you seek the assistance of a legal practitioner if you are considering making a claim on one of these policies.

It is important to note that in some circumstances, some forms of benefits received under these policies may be repayable where the same injury or disability resulted from the fault of another and you have also received compensation in relation to this.

Should you require our assistance with investigating whether you have a claim on any such policy, please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss. We proceed with these claims on a no win no fee basis, meaning that you will not owe us any professional fees unless you have a successful outcome.

The information in this publication is of a general nature and is not intended to address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity. Although we endeavour to provide accurate and timely information, we do not guarantee that the information in this publication is accurate at the date it is received or that it will continue to be accurate in the future. We are not responsible for the information of any source to which a link is provided or reference is made and exclude all liability in connection with use of these sources. If you do not wish to receive newsletters from us, please let us know.

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