Children’s TAC entitlements
State based laws in Queensland and NSW
prohibit the publication of information on some of our areas
of practice. The information on this site is for Victorian or ACT
users. If you are in Queensland or NSW please refer to the
relevant links on this page to direct you to the appropriate
information.
Children injured in transport accidents are afforded special
entitlements under the Transport Accident Act. Once
a TAC claim is lodged and accepted a child injured in a transport
accident is entitled to benefits:
A child's entitlement to the
reasonable costs of medical, rehabilitation, disability and like
services
Children involved in transport accidents may require special
assistance, in the form of support at school or support in the home
as a result of the injuries they sustained. The TAC is
obliged to pay the reasonable costs of support in the form of
integration aids at school, attendant care, IT services, special
education services, tutoring, psychological counselling and other
services that benefit children in their recovery from transport
accidents.
In appropriate circumstances the TAC can also be called upon to
pay for modifications to an injured child's home, to allow the
child to live in the family home in the most comfortable and safe
circumstances possible.
The first step along the way to securing TAC funding for any
reasonable medical or like service the child may need is for the
child's health practitioners to submit a request for funding to the
TAC. The TAC must make a decision regarding any request for
funding it receives.
Any decision the TAC makes in respect of any request for funding
can be reviewed at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal
(VCAT). There is a strict 12 month time limit on filing
an Application for Review of any aspect of any TAC decision at
VCAT.
A child injured in a transport
accident may be entitled to ongoing periodical payments of
compensation until they reach 18 years of age
If a child sustains injuries causing greater than 10% whole
person impairment they will be entitled to an ongoing periodical
payment of compensation from the TAC until they reach 18 years of
age. The amount of the payment depends upon the extent of
impairment the child is assessed to suffer over 10% whole person
impairment.
The periodical payments cannot start until 18 months after the
accident.
If a child is reassessed to suffer less than 10% whole person
impairment at any time before they reach 18 years of age the
periodical payments cease.
If you consider that a child in your care has suffered permanent
impairment as a result of injuries they sustained in a transport
accident, you should seek advice regarding their potential
entitlement to periodical payments of compensation.
A child injured in a transport
accident may be entitled to bring a TAC Common Law damages
claim
If the accident in which the child was involved was caused by
the fault of another person and the child sustained 'serious
injury' in the accident a claim for Common Law damages may be
brought on the child's behalf by an appropriate litigation
guardian.
A child will be recognised to have suffered 'serious injury' in
the accident if:
- they sustained injuries that cause 30% or more whole person
impairment, or
- they sustained an injury that causes:
- serious long term impairment or loss of a body function
- permanent serious disfigurement
- severe long term mental or severe long term behavioural
disturbance or disorder, or
- the loss of a foetus.
If you consider that a child in your care sustained permanent
injuries in a transport accident, you should seek our advice in
respect of the child's potential to bring a Common Law claim.
There is a six year time limit on bringing a claim for Common
Law damages. In the case of a child who is injured, the six
year time limit commences on the day of the child's 18th
birthday.
Possible further entitlements upon reaching 18 years of
age
A person, who was injured in a transport accident as a child,
may be entitled to further benefits upon reaching 18 years of
age. If the person's whole person impairment as a result of
the injuries sustained in the accident are assessed to cause more
than 10% whole person impairment when the person reaches 18 years
of age they will be entitled to an impairment benefit payment from
the TAC. The amount of this benefit will depend upon the
extent to which the person's impairment is assessed in excess of
10% whole person impairment.
It is also important to note that there is a time limit for
lodging a TAC claim. A TAC claim should be submitted to the
TAC within one year of the date of the accident. In
exceptional circumstances the TAC may accept a claim that is made
one year after the accident but before three years after the
accident if there is a reasonable explanation for the delay in
making the claim. Importantly, in the case of individuals
injured as children, the TAC is obliged to accept any claim by the
injured individual submitted before their 19th birthday in
circumstances where no claim has been previously
submitted.
Support for children
There are a number of ways that the TAC can be involved in
childcare services.
A person who, in the 30 days before the accident, was engaged in
the care of the child has a right to receive childcare services
from the TAC.
The TAC has to pay the reasonable costs of reasonable services
of any person injured in a motor vehicle accident. If any
treating practitioner recommends that childcare services be
available then these, too, can be made available outside of the
TAC's policy. Remember, the policies are not the law.
The TAC will often tell families that they do not want parents
to be paid to be carers. Each case needs to be looked at on
its merits. However there is no law forbidding a parent from
receiving compensation for caring for their child. It is
essential that any request be made in advance. A Judgment of
the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (Hanson v
TAC, 16 June 2009) has the VCAT pointing out that the law can
have "ridiculous" consequences because it stops the reimbursement
of past services. The TAC can only authorise services into
the future.
Want to know more?
Our team of expert TAC lawyers are happy to advise you on your
situation during a free first consultation. For advice and help
with a TAC claim, click here to be to be contacted by a member
of our team or call 1800 810 812.