How long do I have to make a personal injury claim?

It Is Important That You Bring Your Claim Within The Relevant Time Limit Otherwise You Will Lose The Right To Pursue Your Personal Injury Claim

You can contact me for free and no obligation initial advice about your case and the relevant time limit.

Strict time limits apply to personal injury claims which require court proceedings to have been started before the time limit expires. However, the time limits vary depending on different factors including where the accident happened, who you intend to claim against and the nature of your injury and accident (amongst other factors).

In England & Wales the time limit for bringing a claim is usually 3 years from the date the injury was sustained i.e. usually 3 years from the date of the accident.

However, it can vary and if you have suffered an illness or disease from your work, for example hearing loss, you generally have 3 years from when you became aware of your condition and that it might be related to your work. If you have a medical negligence claim you generally have 3 years from when you knew you had suffered harm as a result of your medical treatment.

If the case involves a child (someone under the age of 18) or someone without capacity to manage their legal affairs the above time limits will not apply. Someone under the age of 18 at the time of injury will have until their 21st birthday to start court proceedings.

If your accident occurred outside England & Wales different time limits may apply as other countries may have different time limits and they can be less than 3 years.

It is possible that a court may exercise its discretion and allow your claim to proceed outside the usual 3 year period. However, it can be very difficult to do this and so you should ensure your claim is brought in time.

Your best course of action is to contact me for your free and no obligation initial consultation to work out the time limit applicable to your claim. Do this, even if you think you may already be out of time as your case may be one where discretion may be exercised in your favour and be allowed to proceed out of time.