When a Child is injured in a transport accident

Support is available to you when your child is injured in a transport accident.

In Victoria, we have an insurance scheme run by the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) to provide treatment, services and in the case of serious permanent injuries, lump sum compensation to people injured in a transport accident in our State.

When a child is injured in a transport accident in Victoria, support is available to the parents and immediate family members of the child.

That support includes:

1. Loss of wages – currently the TAC can pay 100% of a parent’s lost wages, up to a maximum of $1,690* per week for a parent needing to take time off work to visit their dependant child in hospital. Generally, the first five days off work will not be paid unless the parent can demonstrate financial hardship.

2. Travel and accommodation costs – the TAC can pay for costs associated with parents visiting their injured child in hospital, or the costs of immediate family members who live more than 100 km away, visiting a child or adult in hospital. Once discharged from hospital, the TAC can pay for the cost of travel and accommodation associated with treatment for injuries sustained in a transport accident.

3. Family counselling services required after the death or severe injury of a family member – this benefit is available to the spouse or partner, parents, children, brothers and sisters, grandparents and grandchildren of a person who has died or is severely injured in a transport accident. Counselling services are currently paid up to a maximum of $19,280 per family.

It’s important to note that any family member who is diagnosed with their own mental injury as a result of their child’s transport accident may be eligible to lodge their own claim. This also applies to members of the public in situations where they saw a transport accident, helped at the scene of a transport accident, or saw the immediate aftermath of a transport accident.

Eligibility to receive TAC benefits is dependent on your specific circumstances and it should be noted that the information above is general in nature. If you, or someone you know, needs help or advice about a TAC claim, or help with claiming benefits, please contact our office to arrange an appointment with our experienced TAC lawyers.

Our first appointments are free and without obligation; they are designed to ensure that anyone injured in a transport accident, or anyone with a loved one injured in a transport accident, is fully aware of their entitlements under the TAC scheme and understands how to claim them.

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