Its a well known fact that time period for making a claim is 3 years, right. Wrong! Its a common misconception and its also one of the biggest factors of negligence actions taken against Personal Injury Lawyers that do not understand the rules of claim limitation times.
How long is the claim limitation time then? We’ll it depends in the type of claim you are trying to make. All good experienced personal injury lawyers will know this, so don’t always listen to what the TV ads tell you because if you do – you may just miss out!
Cases where you have less than 3 years to make a claim:
-
Accidents that happen in the air or at sea (airplane,ship) have 2 years limitation period.
-
Claims with the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) have a 2 yr cap.
Cases where you have more than 3 years to make a claim:
-
Cases of Assault have 6 years to bring action although you still have to remember that a claim through the CICA will still have to be made within 2 years.
-
Personal injury claims under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 have a 10 year limitation period.
-
Breach of Contract claims have a 6 year period.
-
Infants and Patients
-
Courts Discretion – The Court has discretion to apply a strict time limit for certain actions in respect of personal injuries or death.
The above provides you with only a brief overview relating to Limitation and is by no means exhaustive. For the very best in advice relating to your claim speak to a good Personal Injury Lawyer and don’t always rely on the advice that you have 3 years in which to make your compensation claim.
