Actually the best advice is to make the claim as soon as you possibly can. Yes, for most claims you do have three years from the date of the accident in which to bring your claim here in England and Wales, but there is a lot more to it than that.
This blog is for general guidance only, and it’s to give you a bit of an insight as to why you really shouldn’t wait and leave it too late. For legal advice about limitations that apply to you, make an enquiry with us.
Changes in the Law
Doing it now, is doing it right – because there is much more to a claim and the law then the simple three years rule which applies in many circumstances. Changes in the way claims are run have had a real impact on negligence victims in recent years. The government in April 2013 stopped the recovery of all of your legal fees from the opponent and introduced very low fixed fees. The result is less compensation for the victims.
It doesn’t matter if your accident predates the changes either. So there are some who have left it late and are now getting less compensation because the law changed. Sadly it’s out of our hands. We don’t think it’s right at all, but we can’t change the law!
Some types of claims may be subject to other deadlines or limitation periods that may fall before the three years – so never leave it to chance!
Best chance of success with an early claim
Evidence is fresh; your memory is fresh; the memories of witnesses are fresh; there is a lot to consider when it comes to evidence being fresh! The earlier you make the claim, the less chance of vital evidence being destroyed or lost. CCTV is normally erased after a few weeks – imagine if CCTV was the only thing that could prove your claim and its now gone because you didn’t claim right away!
The burden of proof is on you – if you can’t prove your claim, the other side don’t have to pay you a penny. Anyone who has had an accident where CCTV may be involved should never wait any more than a week to start looking in to things.
Leaving it too late
Three years is a long time, right? But we need to ether settle the claim or issue court proceedings within the three year period. If you try and bring the claim within months of the deadline, we probably can’t settle it. This means we need to issue court proceeding which then triggers other deadlines that could lead to your claim being struck out.
If you are struck out from claiming, it’s practically game over!
So don’t leave it to chance and don’t let time simply burn away because the best time to make your claim is right now!
