If you have had an accident and have been injured through no fault of your own, the general rule is that you have three years from the date of the accident to make a claim for compensation.
At The Injury Lawyers we believe that the best thing to do is make your claim for compensation as soon as possible after the accident. This is for the very simple reason that events will be fresher in your mind and we may even be able to provide you with some no cost private medical treatment which would mean that you could recover from your injuries sooner rather than later.
The Limitation Act states that, in most cases, you have three years from the date of the accident to either notify the court of your claim by issuing proceedings, or settle your claim. This is different if you were a child at the time of your accident. That is, if you were under 18 years of age when you had your accident, you normally have until your 21st birthday to make your claim. However, we would advise that, if you were say two or three years at the time of your accident, it would be best not to wait nearly 20 years to make your claim because it is likely that you will not remember exactly what happened and because finding evidence of your accident is very much harder.
One further exception is where you did not realise you were injured until a later time. For example, if you suffered a repetitive strain injury at work, you may not realise you are injured until several months later and there may not be a specific accident date. It is likely that such an injury occurred over time rather than on a particular day. In this case you have three years from the date of knowledge that your injuries were linked to negligence to make a claim. So, if you realised you were injured today, you would have three years from today to make your claim for compensation in most circumstances. Again, it is better to make the claim sooner.
What happens if you do not settle your claim for compensation within three years or notify the court of your intention to claim for your injury? Unfortunately, it means that you may no longer claim for the injuries arising out the accident. There are, however, some circumstances where the court may allow you to make your claim after the three years, but such circumstances are few and far between.
If you notify an injury lawyer of your potential claim for compensation and they accept your instructions to act on your behalf, if the claim has not settled within three years of you accident, what they will do is issue what are known as ‘protective proceedings’. In other words, they will write to the court to notify them of your wish to make a claim for compensation. With this notification you can settle your claim any time after three years has passed because the court is aware of your claim. The important thing is to either get your case settled within three years or to tell the court within three years of your accident that you want to make a claim.
If you are unsure about your limitation date or want any further advice, please do not hesitate to contact The Injury Lawyers today for free as we would be more than happy to help you.
It is important to stress that the above information is only a generally guideline; to ensure you make your claim in time, speak with an expert injury lawyer as soon as you can.