You may have heard or seen the adverts: Have you had an accident in the last three years that wasn’t your fault? – So what is this three years they talk about? It’s called the Limitation Period, covered under British law as the Limitation Act 1980.
What it means is that in most accident claims you have three years from the date of the accident for proceedings to be issued or the claim becomes statute barred meaning a claim cannot be initiated or continued unless you have obtained special permission from the court.
Are there exceptions? Well yes there are; here are a few examples:
- The Limitation period for a minor (i.e. a person under the age of 18) is different to that of a normal time period. If a person has an accident and they are under the age of 18, they have 3 years from the date of their 18th birthday to claim – i.e. before they turn 21!
- Criminal injuries – also known as “CICA claims.” These are claims in which a person is injured as a result of an act of pre-meditated violence as oppose to an accident arising out of negligence. The limitation period here is two years from the date of the incident.
- Exposure to a hazardous substance or a disease / injury as a result of industry: You may have been exposed to a harmful substance during a course of employment or from a hazardous product, and remained unaware for up to years of the effects it has caused. The limitation period applied here is from the date of knowledge; i.e. the date from which you were made aware of the cause of your symptoms / injury was a result of negligence.
You may have heard of the Toxic Sofa claims – a large number of people suffered symptoms and injuries as a result of a substance placed in a sofa during transit. Many people for years remained unaware of the cause to their symptoms until news of the claims hit the press globally (source).
So when we say don’t miss out, we really do mean it!
What if you had an accident maybe two a and a half years ago and you want to claim??? – PANIC!
Seek advice from an expert personal injury solicitor now; it might not be too late to start your claim if you are still within the three years limitation period. An expert solicitor can issue your case protectively at an early stage to ensure that proceedings have commenced prior to the limitation period expiring.
Follow the link for more information on the legislation behind limitation periods: click here!
If you are out of the limitation period, look around for what advice is available and speak to an expert personal injury lawyer to see whether there is an exception.
