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Car accident doctor for the Richmond Valley: CTP injury care

Whether you crashed near Casino, Coraki or Evans Head, our CTP doctors offer video consultations and complete the Certificate of Fitness.

Book an appointment(02) 7238 7379

Last updated , 9 min read

An open two-lane country road curving through dry grass and gum trees in regional NSW

When a Richmond Valley crash leaves you hurt, one of our CTP doctors can assess you by telehealth, so you needn't travel from Coraki, Rappville or Evans Head before care begins. On that first call, the doctor looks at what a highway collision or a skid on a wet floodplain road did to you and fills in your Certificate of Fitness. Physio, psychology or exercise physiology with our team can follow, planned around the long distances between valley towns. The CTP insurer generally pays for treatment that is reasonable and necessary for your accident injuries. It decides what's approved, and its decisions can be reviewed.

The valley runs from the cattle country around Casino, across the Richmond River floodplain, to the beaches at Evans Head. Its main roads carry a hard-working mix: stock trucks on the Bruxner Highway and Summerland Way, cane haulage around Broadwater and Woodburn, and holiday traffic heading for the coast. Distances between towns are long, and places such as Whiporie or Bungawalbin sit well away from any larger centre. A drive to an appointment is hard going when your neck or back is sore. Telehealth means assessment can start from home, with in-person care arranged where an examination needs it.

On this page8 sections

Local road safety

Where people are hurt on the roads in the Richmond Valley

Transport for NSW figures on injury crashes between 2020 and 2024 put the valley's three highways, which carry livestock trucks and long-distance traffic, at the top. First is the Bruxner Highway, followed by the Pacific Highway, then Summerland Way. Casino is the town where crashes are recorded most, ahead of Woodburn and Coraki. Just over half were in zones signposted 100 km/h or higher, where impacts tend to be more forceful. Motorcyclists were involved in roughly one crash in nine, and about one in four happened in darkness. Pedestrians and cyclists appear only occasionally. Clinically, that mix points to neck and back strain from sudden impacts, chest and shoulder injuries from seatbelt loading, and wrist, knee and leg injuries in riders.

Crashes where someone was hurt in the Richmond Valley, 2020 to 2024
YearCrashes where someone was hurtKilledSeriously injuredAll casualtiesAll recorded crashes (including tow-away crashes)
2020564267066
2021543176877
2022431235657
2023576358575
2024542307774
2020 to 202426416131356349
Crashes where someone was hurt are police-reported crashes in which at least one person was killed or injured. All casualties counts everyone killed, seriously injured, moderately injured or with minor or other injuries. The last column, for context, also counts crashes where no one was hurt but a vehicle was towed away. Injury severities are as recorded in this police-reported dataset; Transport for NSW's hospital-linked serious injury statistics are a different, higher series.

Roads and streets with the most crashes where someone was hurt

  1. 1.Bruxner Highway38 crashes
  2. 2.Pacific Highway27 crashes
  3. 3.Summerland Way23 crashes
  4. 4.Coraki Road14 crashes
  5. 5.Bentley Road8 crashes

Localities where people were hurt most often

Localities as recorded by Transport for NSW. A crash near the council boundary can carry the name of a locality next door.

  1. 1.Casino80 crashes
  2. 2.Woodburn21 crashes
  3. 3.Coraki15 crashes
  4. 4.Evans Head13 crashes
  5. 5.New Italy11 crashes

Road-user mix. Of the 264 crashes where someone was hurt in 2020 to 2024, 11% involved a motorcycle, 5% a pedestrian, 3% a bicycle and 6% a heavy vehicle (a crash can involve more than one). Crashes in speed zones of 90 km/h or more made up 53% of the total.

Main roads through the Richmond Valley

  • Pacific Highway
  • Bruxner Highway
  • Summerland Way
  • Casino–Coraki Road
  • Woodburn–Coraki Road
  • Woodburn–Evans Head Road
  • Broadwater–Evans Head Road

Source: Transport for NSW, NSW Road Crash Data 2020 to 2024 (open data). Casualty crashes by LGA of crash. View the dataset (opens in a new tab)

First steps

After a crash in the Richmond Valley: getting checked and recorded

Two cars after a minor collision

Check everyone is safe and ring police if anyone is hurt. If they don't come, report the crash later so the claim has an event number. Take the other driver's details and the vehicle's rego, and photograph the scene if it's safe. On a quiet stretch near Rappville or Whiporie, a photo of the nearest road sign helps pin down the spot. Then get your injuries assessed and written down, even if you feel fine, because stiffness and pain often build later. The CTP insurer covering the at-fault vehicle handles the claim; our doctors look after the medical side.

  1. Get safe, then get help

    Call 000 if anyone is seriously hurt or in danger. For police attendance when it isn't an emergency, the Police Assistance Line is 131 444.

  2. Report it and keep the event number

    Report the crash to police if anyone was hurt, a driver left the scene or a car was towed. Keep the event number: the claim form asks for it.

  3. Swap details and take photos

    Get names, phone numbers, licence details and registration plates from every driver, and witnesses' details before they leave. Photograph the scene when it's safe.

  4. See a doctor early

    Ideally within a day or two, even if you feel fine. Pain often builds over the following days. An early appointment records your injuries and starts your Certificate of Fitness.

  5. Which CTP insurer handles your claim

    You claim with the CTP (green slip) insurer of the vehicle most at fault, worked out from its registration. If that vehicle can't be identified, the claim may go to the Nominal Defendant.

  6. Lodge the claim form

    The form is the Application for Personal Injury Benefits, backed by your Certificate of Fitness. Our step-by-step lodging guide walks through it.

Time limits

A claim served within 28 days of the accident can have benefits backdated to the accident date. A common reference point for lodging is three months from the accident. Your circumstances can change the dates, so confirm yours with SIRA or a solicitor.

CTP injury care

Car accident injury care for the Richmond Valley: your first appointment

A doctor with a tablet talking with a patient seated on an examination bench

High-speed crashes on roads like the Bruxner Highway can cause injuries that don't show their full extent at first, so an early assessment helps in two ways. Hidden problems surface sooner, and early notes tie each injury to the collision, which matters when the insurer weighs up the claim. At the first consultation, the doctor examines you, completes the Certificate of Fitness, maps out a treatment plan and writes up the clinical notes an insurer usually requests. Across a spread-out valley, many people start by telehealth, with an in-person review arranged when an examination needs one. The local crash mix shapes what we see: whiplash and lower back strain from rear-end and side impacts, shoulder and wrist injuries in motorcyclists, and the anxiety about driving that can follow a serious crash. If your claim runs into a dispute, we can point you to independent legal help.

Our CTP doctors see people injured in motor vehicle accidents across NSW. The first appointment does four jobs, and each one feeds the claim:

  1. A proper assessment

    The doctor takes a history of the crash, examines you and records a diagnosis for each injured area, including the ones that seem minor today.

  2. Your Certificate of Fitness

    The main medical document in a NSW CTP claim. It records your injuries, your capacity for work and what you can and can't do. The first one must come from a medical practitioner, and each one generally covers up to 28 days, so it's renewed as you recover. See what a Certificate of Fitness should include.

  3. A treatment plan

    What you need next, such as physiotherapy, psychology or exercise physiology, with clear reasons the insurer can act on.

  4. The records the insurer asks for

    Dated notes, referrals and reports that link your symptoms to the crash. Insurer decisions lean on them, so they need to be specific.

More detail: the CTP medical assessment, and physiotherapy, psychology and exercise physiology under CTP.

CTP injury care

Common injuries after crashes in the Richmond Valley

Every crash is different, but some injuries come up again and again after car crashes. Many don't show their full extent on the day:

Our guide to car accident injuries and their symptoms covers the warning signs.

The road-user mix above shows who else gets hurt on the roads in the Richmond Valley. Each of these groups has its own injury pattern:

Motorcycles

Riders have little protection, so fractures and wrist, knee and ankle injuries are more common. See motorcycle accidents in NSW.

Heavy vehicles

Crashes with trucks involve more force, so injuries tend to be more serious, and the shock can linger. See psychological injury.

Pedestrians

A person struck by a vehicle can have leg, pelvic and head injuries, often more than one at once. See pedestrian hit by a car.

A man taking a phone consultation at home, sitting by a sunlit window

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CTP benefits

What CTP pays for, and weekly payments

Approved treatment is generally arranged through the CTP scheme rather than paid by you directly. Depending on your injuries, it can include:

  • Appointments with our CTP doctors, and specialist care where it's needed.
  • Physiotherapy, psychology and exercise physiology with our allied health team.
  • X-rays, scans and other imaging when they're clinically justified.
  • Medication prescribed for your accident injuries.
  • Reasonable travel to approved treatment, where the insurer agrees. Check its process first.

If your injuries stop you working, or cut your hours, weekly payments may be paid where the scheme rules allow. The amount is based on your pre-accident earnings, it steps down at set points, and there's a cap. Your Certificate of Fitness records your capacity for work, so keep it current. Being mostly at fault, or having an injury classified as minor, shortens how long some benefits run. See CTP weekly payments, minor vs non-minor injury and CTP benefits in NSW.

Booking

Telehealth or in person: how to book

A woman at home on a video consultation, a clinician visible on her laptop screen

Telehealth makes it simpler to see a CTP doctor from the Richmond Valley without a long drive while you're sore. Where an in-person examination is needed, we'll talk through the options when you book.

  1. Book online or call

    Use the booking form or call (02) 7238 7379.

  2. We confirm by phone

    We call to confirm the time, whether it's telehealth or in person, and what to bring.

  3. Bring what you have

    Photo ID, the police event number, a claim number if you already have one, any scans or hospital letters, and a list of your medications.

New to telehealth? Here's what to expect from a telehealth CTP appointment.

Around the area

Suburbs and towns across the Richmond Valley

These are some of the suburbs and towns in the Richmond Valley. We see people from all of them. Where we have a local page, the name is linked.

  • Casino
  • Evans Head
  • Coraki
  • North Casino
  • Woodburn
  • Broadwater
  • Spring Grove
  • Fairy Hill
  • Swan Bay
  • Yorklea
  • Ellangowan
  • Doonbah
  • Leeville
  • New Italy
  • Tatham
  • Stratheden
  • Shannon Brook
  • Rileys Hill
  • Rappville
  • Bungawalbin
  • Whiporie

Neighbouring council areas: Lismore, Ballina, Kyogle, Clarence Valley.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

About the area

Last checked:

General information, not legal advice. CTP Doctor is a medical clinic, not a law firm or an insurer, and this page isn't medical advice for your situation. For the scheme rules, see SIRA.

A doctor talking through next steps with an older patient at her desk

Next step

See a CTP doctor after a crash in the Richmond Valley

Often seen within the week. Telehealth across NSW, or in person where appropriate. No claim number needed to start.

Book an appointment(02) 7238 7379
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