If your friend was at fault, they can’t make a claim for injury to themselves because a claim for compensation can only be made against someone else if they breached their duty of care to you.
If you as the owner of the car were a passenger, you can claim against your CTP because you weren’t the negligent driver.
However, if your friend was not at fault, then they can make a claim against the driver who was. You will not be liable for any injuries sustained by your friend unless you were the negligent one. For example, if you didn’t properly maintain your vehicle or it was unroadworthy and this caused the accident.
It's important to keep in mind that if you are injured and you were not wearing a seatbelt there is an automatic co-contribution of 25% to the liability, which basically means you lose 25% of your settlement.
If you are injured as a passenger and the driver of the vehicle you were in is found to be under the influence, there is also an automatic co-contribution of 50% to the liability, whether you were aware the driver was under the influence or not.
Smith's Lawyers' expert car accident team offers risk-free CTP claims across Queensland. We support all injured road users—drivers, motorcyclists, passengers, cyclists, and pedestrians—in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Logan, Ipswich, and regional cities like Cairns, Toowoomba, and Townsville. No win, no fee, no catch.
