WA insurance scheme expands

Matt Cook has been living a "constant nightmare" since he crashed his car while texting and driving in the rain in Perth almost 10 years ago.

Mr Cook hit a kerb and came into the path of an oncoming vehicle, which T-boned his car on the passenger side in May 2007.

The 34-year-old is now confined to a wheelchair with a speech synthesiser and requires 24/7 care at a cost of about $100,000 a year.

Mr Cook is publicly backing a decision to expand the motor vehicle injury insurance cover for people catastrophically injured in accidents, which he says will benefit people insurmountably.

"It was a massive culture shock waking up in a broken body and even a constant nightmare for I am a burden on the family and I'm very different from how I was," he told reporters on Sunday.

Treasurer Mike Nahan said about 44 people who were catastrophically injured every year in WA could not prove fault and were therefore not covered by the current scheme.

But from July 1, everyone in WA will receive treatment, care and support for the rest of their lives in the event of a catastrophic injury.

The cost of the expanded insurance cover will be a maximum of $99 in the first year for each vehicle and motorcycle, with smaller increases for tractors, mopeds, vintage cars and farm firefighting vehicles.

There will be no increases for caravans and trailers.

Dr Nahan said many people did not realise that currently if a driver was catastrophically injured after hitting a kangaroo they might not be covered if they were either at fault or unable to identify another driver at fault.

Disability Services Minister Donna Faragher said extensive consultation had been undertaken with the health and disability sector, motorists and the wider community.

Catastrophic injuries include spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, multiple amputations, severe burns and permanent traumatic blindness.