What is the limitation period?
The general rule is that personal injury claims have to be brought
within 3 years from the date of the accident. For example, if your
accident happened on 3rd April 2005 your limitation date for making
a claim is 3rd April 2008, proceedings must be issued at Court by
this date. There can be considerable work involved prior to issuing
proceedings so you should contact a member of our Team as soon as
possible following an accident.
If the victim of the accident is a child, then the 3-year time limit
does not begin to run until the child is 18 years old.
If an accident occurred longer than 3 years ago, but the injuries
only became evident for example after 5 years (as may be the case
in industrial disease cases), then the 3-year time limit begins
to run from the date of knowledge of the accident/incident.
It is always important to seek expert legal advice as soon as is
possible following an accident. Top
What does contributory negligence mean?
In some instances the Court may decide that you have contributed
to your injury by failing to take reasonable care. For example,
someone injured in a motor accident and they were not wearing a
seat belt. The Court will place a percentage figure to the amount
of contributory negligence and the overall settlement sum will be
reduced accordingly.
So for example, if the Court were to award £2,000, but considered
you to be 10% to blame for your injuries, you would receive £1800.
The fact that you may have been partly to blame for an accident
does not prevent you from bringing a claim that may well be successful.
Do I have to wait until the conclusion
of my case before receiving any payment?
If liability, that is who is to blame for the accident, is not in
issue we can usually arrange for interim payments to be made on
your behalf. This can include for example the cost of obtaining
a replacement car if your own has been damaged.
Under a Conditional Fee Agreement, if you succeed in your claim
the other side pays our fees. If you lose the case you do not have
to pay for our fees.
There are two other types of expense as well as solicitors fees,
these are:
• Expenses such as court fees, barristers' fees, fees for medical
records, and doctors' fees etc
• The costs of the other side, which you might have to pay
in the event that you lose the case.
To pay for these two expenses you can take out an insurance policy,
which is called After the Event Insurance. Such a policy will pay
for expenses of the case and for the costs of the other side if
you lose. We can advise you on the best possible policy for you.
If you win the case the insurance premium is paid by the other side.
We can go through any payment issues and questions you may have
at any stage.
I have been injured as a result of a criminal
attack, can I claim compensation?
Yes. People who are the victims of crimes of violence are able to
pursue a claim for compensation through the Criminal Injuries Compensation
Authority (CICA). The general rule is that you have to submit your
claim to CICA as soon as possible and no later than 2 years after
the incident. Our team have substantial experience in this field
and can help you to make a claim.
