Western Australians injured on the road face a different compensation system than the rest of the country, and lawyers say understanding it early is critical to protecting a claim. Most car accident claims in WA are managed through the Motor Injury Insurance Scheme (MIIS), a fault-based compulsory third party (CTP) insurance scheme run by the Insurance Commission of Western Australia (ICWA). Claimants must lodge a Notice of Intention to Make a Claim with ICWA, while catastrophic injuries can fall under a separate no-fault Catastrophic Injuries Support Scheme, also managed by ICWA.

The Motor Vehicle (Third Party Insurance) Act 1943 (WA) governs the process, and compensation for a successful claim can include medical treatment, ambulance transport, hospital care, allied health support such as physiotherapy, dental treatment, scans and medication, surgery, past and future economic loss, pain and suffering, and in some cases gratuitous services or paid care provided by family members. Legal specialists say the process can be daunting for someone still recovering physically and emotionally from a crash, which is why a claimant's choice of lawyer can materially affect the outcome and speed of a claim.

Five firms have built a reputation across Perth and Western Australia for handling car accident injury claims: Bradford Legal, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, TGB Lawyers, Trusted Injury Lawyers and Foyle Legal.

Bradford Legal, founded in 1991 as Bradford & Co, is one of the most established and trusted personal injury law firms in Western Australia. The firm is known throughout Perth for its work in workers' compensation, work-related injury and car accident claims, and its team brings together decades of combined experience in the personal injury field.........

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