THE LIMITATION ACT 1980
We represent specialist solicitors who are knowledgeable of The Limitation Act 1980; solicitors that can pursue your personal injury claim on a risk free, no win no fee basis, across the UK. There are no charges, even if you lose your claim and you are not required to finance your claim from its outset or as it proceeds. If you contact us, we can provide clear and unequivocal advice on liability and the compensation you stand to win. Any damages you do win would be paid to you in full without deduction. Our lawyers are members of the Law Society Panel of personal injury experts and can be contacted by using the helpline number or by submitting the contact form. If, after receiving free legal advice you decide not to pursue a claim, you are not under any obligations and will not be charged.
Claiming for damages after personal injury involves compliance with certain time restrictions. Proceedings must be issued within a certain time period subsequent to the injury and this is generally set at three years following the instance of negligence, although this primary limit may in some circumstances be extended. The potential claimant may not be able to pursue damages if proceedings have not been issued to the court of law before the eve of the third anniversary of the accident, so such time restrictions should be noted carefully. There are, nonetheless, instances whereby exceptions to the standard three year limit exist. The following circumstances are not exhaustive under The Limitation Act 1980, but are suggestive of where extension to the standard time restriction may be made :-
- In circumstances where the individual incurring the injury had a mental disability, the limit period only starts when full mental capacity has returned and in situations where mental disability is ongoing, damages can be pursued at any future time.
- When the person incurring the injury was under 18 at the time of the accident, the three year limit only strats to run on their 18th birthday. If the time period started then expires (when the individual turns 21), and they still have not issued proceedings, then they will have lost the opportunity, unless they suffer from mental disability. If mental disability is not indicated, then the claim should therefore either be settled, or formal proceedings issued, before the potential claimant turns 21.
- Under The Limitation Act 1980 the courts have discretion to adjust these time limits, although the occasions in which they do so are rare. Nonetheless, even if you think the limitation statute has invalidated any potential attempt to claim damages after personal injury, there may be clauses in the act which would enable you to rescue claims over 3 years old. It is important to quickly obtain expert legal advice to see if this might be the case.
In the case of industrial disease claims there is often a very long period, frequently several decades, between exposure to a contaminent and the appearance of signs and symptoms of the disease and in these circumstances the three year period does not start running until the disease or illness was discovered or should have been disovered by the exercise of reasonable dilligence. It is important to obtain legal advice as soon as there is any suspicion of an industrial disease.
If you have been injured in an accident within the last three years, do yourself justice and complete the contact form and we will immediately put you in touch with a specialist solicitor who deals with your type of claim. If after talking to that solicitor you decide to proceed no further you will not be charged for any advice.
