Injured as a Passenger in a Car Accident in Queensland
A passenger is rarely at fault, making them one of the most straightforward CTP claimants in Queensland. You claim against the CTP insurer of the vehicle whose driver caused the accident, which may be the car you were sitting in.
Most people are reluctant to make passenger claims as the driver is often a partner, parent, friend, or workmate. But a Queensland CTP claim is made against the vehicle’s compulsory third party insurer, not against the driver personally, so they’re not left carrying your claim.
Key takeaways
- Passengers can claim against the CTP insurer of the at-fault vehicle, not against the driver’s own money.
- Where two vehicles are both partly to blame, a passenger can claim in respect of both, and the insurers sort out apportionment between themselves.
- Not wearing a seatbelt does not end the claim; Queensland law provides for a minimum reduction in compensation.
- The usual claim deadlines apply: nine months from the accident or from when symptoms appeared, or one month from first instructing a lawyer, whichever comes first.
Who you claim against as a passenger
| How the accident happened | Whose CTP insurer you claim against |
|---|---|
| Another vehicle caused the crash | The CTP insurer of that other vehicle. |
| The driver you were travelling with caused the crash | The CTP insurer of the vehicle you were in |
| Both drivers were partly to blame | Both CTP insurers. Apportionment between them is their problem, not yours. |
| Single vehicle accident and the driver was at fault | The CTP insurer of the vehicle you were in. |
| The at-fault vehicle drove off or was unregistered | The Nominal Defendant. Shorter deadlines apply, and for an unidentified vehicle the claim form is due within three months. |
| You were a passenger in a bus, taxi or rideshare | The CTP insurer of the at-fault vehicle. See our pages for bus accidents, public transport and Uber and rideshare. |
Do I Need My Own Insurance to Claim as a Passenger?
No, the claim goes to the CTP insurer of the vehicle that may have caused the accident, not to any policy you hold. CTP cover is attached to the vehicle, so you don’t need a car or insurance of your own. You can use the vehicle’s registration number and the accident date to identify its insurer.
Who Pays My Medical Bills While My Claim Is Running?
Before you lodge your claim, you’ll usually pay for treatment yourself or through Medicare or private health insurance, so keep your receipts. After lodgement, you can ask the insurer to reimburse reasonable costs. The insurer may fund rehabilitation before accepting liability, and an approved provider can invoice it directly.
Within 14 days of receiving your claim form, the insurer must advise if it will pay for rehabilitation. For later treatment requests, it has 10 days to respond. See our claim process guide for what happens next.
Claiming when the driver is family or a friend
Making a claim does not mean suing your partner, your parent, or your mate for their savings. It means notifying the CTP insurer that covers the vehicle, which exists for exactly this purpose and is funded by the registration everyone pays.
Practically, the driver’s involvement is limited to giving their account of the accident to the insurer. Their premium is set by the CTP scheme, not by a claims history in the way comprehensive insurance is. In our experience, the awkwardness people fear is far smaller than the cost of an untreated injury and lost income they carry alone.
What passengers can claim
- Insurer-funded reasonable and appropriate medical treatment and rehabilitation, including physiotherapy and specialist care.
- Past loss of income, and an assessment of future loss of earning capacity where the injury affects the work you can do.
- General damages for pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life, where the injury is serious enough to qualify. The amount is calculated under the statutory Injury Scale Value system.
- Care and assistance you have needed at home while recovering.
- Legal costs and disbursements under the scheme rules.
Our guide to CTP payout amounts in Queensland explains how compensation is worked out, and car accident compensation covers the categories in more detail.
Passengers with eligible serious injuries may also receive support from the no-fault National Injury Insurance Scheme Queensland (NIISQ). For accidents on Queensland roads on or after 1 July 2016, NIISQ can also fund reasonable treatment, care, and support, regardless of fault.
The injuries passengers most commonly present with
Front and rear seat passengers are exposed differently to drivers. They have no warning, no steering wheel to brace against, and no control over the impact. The injuries we see repeatedly are:
- Whiplash and neck injuries, frequently in low-speed impacts where the car looks barely damaged.
- Soft tissue injuries to the shoulder and back that present days after the accident.
- Spinal injuries and head and brain injuries in high-speed collisions.
- Knee injuries from contact with the dashboard, and fractures from seatbelt and airbag loading.
- Psychological injury, which is compensable in its own right and is commonly overlooked by passengers who were not physically the worst hurt.
See a doctor even if you feel able to walk away. The CTP insurance medical certificate that starts the claim requires a physical examination, and an early medical record is worth far more than a late one.
What reduces a passenger’s claim
A passenger is rarely at fault for a collision, but a claim can still be reduced for contributory negligence in a small number of situations. Queensland law provides for minimum reductions where the injured person was not wearing a seatbelt as required, and where a passenger relied on the care and skill of a driver they knew or ought to have known was intoxicated.
If either applies to you, you should get legal advice, because the size of the reduction is contestable and the insurer’s opening position is a negotiating one. Our page on being partly at fault covers how these reductions work.
Can a Passenger Be a Witness or Be Held Liable for the Accident?
Yes, a passenger’s account of the crash can help the insurer work out who was at fault. If you’re also making a claim, the insurer, or a judge if the claim goes to court, will take that into account when deciding how much to rely on your version of events.
Simply being in the car doesn’t make a passenger liable. Liability is rare and usually involves actively interfering with the driver, such as grabbing the steering wheel, in a way that causes the crash. In Graham v Jamieson [1995] QCA 305, a passenger who grabbed the wheel was found negligent and held two-thirds responsible for a rollover. Not wearing a seatbelt can reduce your own claim, but it doesn’t make you responsible for the crash.
Other Passenger Situations
The same CTP rules apply to most passengers, but the few situations below have extra points to consider.
Motorcycle Pillion Passengers
A pillion passenger claims the same way a car passenger does. If the rider caused the crash, the claim goes to the motorcycle’s CTP insurer, and if another driver caused it, the claim goes to that vehicle’s insurer.
Pillion passengers are more likely to face arguments that they contributed to their own injuries, which can reduce a claim. The most common are not wearing a helmet or protective gear, riding with someone who’s under the influence, and riding a motorcycle that isn’t set up for a passenger.
Motorcycle crashes also tend to cause more serious injuries, so NIISQ support may be relevant. Our page on motorcycle accidents explains how motorcycle claims differ.
Child Passengers
A parent, guardian, or another responsible adult makes a CTP claim on a child’s behalf. This person, called a litigation guardian, signs the claim forms, deals with the insurer, and makes decisions about the claim, always in the child’s best interests.
Most steps are the same as for an adult’s claim, with a few differences:
Children aged 15 to 17 must provide their own certified photo ID. For younger children, the insurer may ask for their ID instead.
The litigation guardian can’t finalise the claim alone. A court or the Public Trustee must approve any settlement to make sure it’s fair and in the child’s best interests.
The claim form should still be lodged as soon as possible. If it’s late, the insurer may ask for an explanation, and a child’s age is often a relevant factor. For court proceedings, the usual three-year period doesn’t start until the child turns 18, so a child generally has until their 21st birthday.
Passengers Travelling for Work
If you were injured as a passenger while travelling to, from, or for work, you may have a WorkCover journey claim and a CTP claim. WorkCover claims don’t depend on who caused the crash, so this can apply even if no one was at fault.
WorkCover can cover journeys between home and work, to or from work-related training, between jobs, and other types of work-related travel.
Home-to-work journeys are covered only if there was no significant interruption or detour. For travel away from your usual workplace, your employment must be a significant contributing factor to the injury. WorkCover claims have their own deadline: six months from the injury.
The two schemes are linked, so you can’t be paid twice for the same loss. If WorkCover pays benefits and you later receive a CTP settlement, WorkCover may need to be repaid from that settlement.
What to do now
Make sure the accident is reported to police and get the QP number.
See a doctor and ask for a CTP insurance medical certificate.
Note the registration numbers of every vehicle involved, and the details of the driver you were travelling with.
Lodge the Notice of Accident Claim Form with the right insurer, within time. The full sequence is in our CTP claim process guide.
Get advice before accepting an early offer, particularly if the injury has not stabilised.
If a Passenger Dies in the Accident
If a driver fully or partly caused a passenger’s death, the CTP scheme may cover reasonable funeral costs and financial support for dependents, such as a spouse or children who relied on the passenger’s income. These claims use a separate fatal injury claim form, which needs a certified death certificate. Our page on wrongful death claims explains how this works.
Speak to a Queensland CTP lawyer
WT Compensation Lawyers act for injured passengers across Queensland, with car accident lawyers in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Cairns. Far North Queensland claims are handled locally by our Cairns compensation lawyers.
We act on a no win, no fee basis. Contact us, and we will tell you whose insurer to claim against and what your deadline is.
Injured as a Passenger in a Car Accident in Queensland FAQs
Yes. A passenger injured because of a driver’s fault can claim against that vehicle’s CTP insurer. This includes the vehicle the passenger was travelling in, if its driver caused the accident.
No. The claim is made against the vehicle’s compulsory third party insurer, which is attached to the vehicle’s registration. The insurer investigates and pays the compensation, not the driver personally.
As a passenger, you can claim in respect of both at-fault vehicles. The insurers work out how responsibility is apportioned between themselves.
Yes. Queensland law provides for a minimum reduction in compensation where an injured person was not wearing a seatbelt as required, but the claim itself remains available.
You may claim against the Nominal Defendant. Where the at-fault vehicle cannot be identified, the claim form must be lodged within three months of the accident, and you must make a genuine attempt to identify the vehicle first.
The usual Queensland timeframes apply: the earlier of nine months from the accident (or from when symptoms first appeared), or one month from your first meeting with a lawyer engaged to run the claim.
Rarely. Being a passenger doesn’t make you liable, but actively interfering with the driver in a way that causes the crash, such as grabbing the wheel, can.
Their dependents may claim funeral costs and financial support under the CTP scheme. These claims follow a different path from an injury claim, and our wrongful death claims page explains more.
Meet Our Car Accident Lawyers
Jonathan Wu
Managing Director
Jono leads WT Law with a client-first focus, managing Queensland operations and ensuring positive outcomes.
Sinaumea Taufao
Director
Sinau began at top-tier international firm Minter Ellison, then specialised in personal injury law, driven to fight for underdogs and serve Pacific Island and broader communities.