MOTOR VEHICLES ACT 1959 - SECT 127B
MOTOR VEHICLES ACT 1959 - SECT 127B
127B—Liability of insurer to pay treatment, care and support costs
(1) In this
section—
"treatment, care and support needs" of a person are the person's needs for or
in connection with any of the following:
(a)
medical treatment (including pharmaceuticals);
(b)
dental treatment;
(c)
rehabilitation;
(d)
ambulance transportation;
(e) aids
and appliances;
(f)
prostheses;
(g) such
other kinds of treatment, care, support or services as may be prescribed by
the regulations.
(2) Subject to this
section, if—
(a) a
person who has not attained the age of 16 years suffers bodily injury caused
by or arising out of the use of a motor vehicle; and
(b) the
incident to which the bodily injury is attributable occurs in South Australia,
then the insurer is liable to pay all the necessary and reasonable expenses
with respect to the treatment, care and support needs of the person (including
after the person attains the age of 16 years) that are attributable to
that bodily injury.
(3) This section
applies whether or not a liability at common law exists against the owner of
the relevant motor vehicle or other person on account of the occurrence of the
bodily injury (but any award of damages must take into account the extent to
which an entitlement arises under this section).
(4) This section does
not apply in relation to a participant in the Scheme under the
Motor Vehicle Accidents (Lifetime Support Scheme) Act 2013 .
(5) Section 127A
will apply to any services under this section insofar as they are prescribed
services under that section.
(6) If a person
suffered the bodily injury as a result of or partly as a result of the fault
of another person (the wrongdoer), the insurer is entitled to recover from the
wrongdoer as a debt due to the insurer such proportion of the present value of
the insurer's treatment, care and support liabilities in respect of the
person's bodily injury as corresponds to the wrongdoer's share in the
responsibility for the injury.
(7) The present value
of the insurer's treatment, care and support liabilities in respect of a
bodily injury is the sum of the following amounts:
(a)
amounts already paid by the insurer under this section in respect of the
treatment, care and support needs associated with the bodily injury; and
(b) the
present value of the amounts that the insurer estimates will be payable by the
insurer in the future under this section in respect of the treatment, care and
support needs associated with the bodily injury.