How Long Have I Got To Pursue A Personal Injury Claim?

Personal Injury claims are governed by the Limitation Act 1980. This means that Court proceedings must be issued within three years from the date you were injured (the accident) or the date you had knowledge your injury was caused by the third party.

If your claim has not settled and court proceedings have not been issued within three years then it is extremely unlikely that you will be able to pursue your claim any further.

There are a few exceptions to this rule including:

Child Claims

For claims involving children court proceedings must be issued within 3 years from a child’s 18^th birthday. Therefore, a claim must be brought by the child’s 21^st birthday.

Protected Parties

The three-year limitation period does not apply where the person is a protected party i.e. a person who lacks mental capacity to make certain decisions for himself.

Medical Negligence

For medical negligence claims, a claim must be brought within three years from the date of the cause of injury or the date of knowledge of the injury.

Industrial Disease

In industrial disease claims such as Mesothelioma or Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome claims, there will be no accident as such, and therefore a person will have three years from the “date of knowledge” in which to bring a claim. The date of knowledge is defined as the date which you knew or suspected that you had a significant condition and you attributed that condition to your work.

The date of knowledge can arise from the date you were told by a medical expert you were suffering from a certain condition or the date you obtained the knowledge by making your own reasonable enquiries and/or from information readily available to you from relevant experts.

Calculating the correct limitation date for a claim can be complicated and therefore it is essential that you seek legal advice as soon as possible following any accident or knowledge that you have suffered an injury.

How We Can Help

For further information regarding the above or if you would like to discuss a Personal Injury related query with one of the team, please call on freephone 0800 011 6666 or e-mail the team at legal@timms-law.com.