Maurice Blackburn

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.

The Transport Accident Commission (TAC) is responsible for payments of compensation for people who are injured in Victoria or as a result of the driving of a Victorian registered vehicle. 

If a person is injured whilst travelling on a bus or a train or a tram then a claim for compensation should be lodged with the TAC within 12 months of the incident.  The procedure for lodging the claim with TAC is slightly different from that of other transport accident claims.  In the case of a transport accident involving a railway train or a tram, a report of the transport accident must be made to the operator of that railway train or tram or else the TAC is not required to accept the claim.

Unfortunately from our experience we see many claims for people who suffer injuries because of the sudden acceleration or stopping of a train or a tram. There does NOT need to be a collision, it is sufficient if the person suffers injury directly caused by the driving of the train or tram or bus. Any person injured in these circumstances is entitled to bring a claim on the TAC, to receive benefits which include:

• no fault payment for medical and like expenses
• no fault benefits for loss of earnings and loss of earning capacity
• no fault impairment benefit payment, and
• in certain circumstances, potential common law benefit.

The Transport Accident Commission is a bureaucracy and the claim has to be correctly brought in order for it to be appropriately processed.  It is important that the claim on TAC be lodged within 12 months of the incident.  There is generally a six year time limit for bringing any claim for additional lump sum compensation either for impairment benefit payment or for common law compensation.

Many claims on the TAC arise from injuries which have not involved a crash.  There are many instances of sudden stops, sharp turns, or sudden acceleration which have caused injuries and which result in a claim on the TAC.

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 claim, click here to be to be contacted by a member of our team or call 1800 810 812.