The basic rule is that a claim has to be brought within three years of the date of injury, or the “date of knowledge” if this is later. The term “date of knowledge” basically means the date when you became aware that you had suffered an injury as a result of the defendant’s action (or in some cases omission). In most cases this will be obvious. For example, if you suffered injury in a road traffic accident, you will know immediately that you have suffered an injury and the three year period will run from the date of the accident.

In other cases however, the date upon which the three year period starts to run is less obvious. For example, if you have suffered noise induced hearing loss or another work related condition, this may not come to light until many years after the damage was done. There are many people who are suffering from deafness now because of damage done to their hearing in the 1970’s. In these cases the three year period will not begin to run until you become aware of the condition. If you are unsure of whether you still come within this period, then please do not hesitate to contact us.

In any case involving a child the three year period will not start to run until the child reaches the age of eighteen. If a person suffers an accident when under the age of eighteen, they therefore have until their twenty first birthday to commence a claim. However, it may be possible to bring a claim after this date if the date of knowledge is after the claimant’s eighteenth birthday or if the claimant is a person under a disability. If you are in doubt then please contact us for further advice.

In some cases where a person has a mental disability or other impairment which may mean that they are not capable of appreciating the importance of the above time limits, then the three year period will not apply. In theory, they can therefore bring a claim at any stage.

In some cases the Court has discretion to allow claims to proceed even when the above time limits have expired, when certain conditions apply.