The Limitation Act 1980 provides for a special time limit in which to bring a claim for damages for personal injury. Under section 11(4) of the of the Act, the time limit is three years from the date on which the cause of action ‘accrued’, i.e. generally three years from the date the damage was done, but it can alternatively be three years from the ‘date of knowledge’ of the person injured. Section 14 of the Act provides that the ‘date of knowledge’ is the date when the injured person knew that the injury was significant, knew that it was attributable in whole or in part to the act or omission which was alleged to constitute the negligent act, and knew the identity of the negligent party.
Therefore, it may be possible to bring an action more than three years after the injury itself, if for example it is not established until later that the injury was caused by the act of a negligent party. If someone suffers chest problems in the workplace but could not reasonably establish that these problems were caused by negligent working conditions for a number of years, he may still be in time to bring a claim.
What can you do if more than three years have elapsed since your ‘date of knowledge’? Generally, you cannot bring a claim after this time. This is because it is not considered just for potential Defendants to have possible claims hanging over their heads indefinitely. However, the court does have the discretion to ‘exclude’ the time limit under section 33 of the Act. This can really only be done in special circumstances, and it is much better to issue a claim in time rather than have to rely on this provision. It would be sensible to contact a solicitor as soon as possible after you think you may have a claim. It would not be wise to wait until near the end of the three-year period, as your solicitor may need to carry out investigations before issuing the claim.
Please feel free to contact a local solicitor in our directory to discuss a possible claim further.