Time Limits

A personal injury claim should usually be started within three years of the date of the injury.

In most cases it's possible to point to a specific day when the injury happened. For example, most people involved in a car accident are able to say which date the accident happened. But sometimes it is not easy to point to a specific point in time when the injury took place. If you work in an environment in which you are subjected to loud noises for long periods, you may over time develop difficulties with your hearing. At the time your condition is developing you may not think it is worth going to the doctor. It may be that only years later you seek medical help and the doctor is then able to link your hearing difficulties with the loud noises you have been exposed to in your working environment. In instances such as these the deadline for starting your compensation claim is 3 years from the date that you knew about your injury and who was responsible for it.

In the example above, the injured person would still be expected to make enquiries about his or her injury and ask a personal injury solicitor whether he or she had a case.

The 'limitation period' (this is the 3 year deadline for making a claim) does not apply in the same sense to people who are "under a disability". For a child under the age of 18, the 3 year period does not begin to run until they are 18.

A person who is "of unsound mind" within the meaning of the Mental Health Act is also considered by the courts to be under a disability for these purposes and the 3 year period does not start running until they are no longer under a disability.

Courts have the right to not apply the rules on the 3 year deadline in certain cases, especially where it would not be fair to do so.

If you wish to speak to one of our specialist personal injury solicitors, please contact us on freephone 0808 155 4870. We have offices in London, Manchester & Birmingham and operate nationally.