Do you have the time?
How long do you have to make a claim if you’ve been injured?
Many people may be aware that if you choose to make a legal claim, you have to do
so within certain timescales to ensure your claim has the best chance of success. But
do you actually know the details of these timescales? If you or someone you know has
been injured, knowledge of these details can be crucial to the success of your claim.
It is important to be aware that different types of legal claims have varying time limits
and if you miss these deadlines, you may not be able to make a claim at all.
If you are injured in an accident, you have three years from the accident date to begin
a compensation claim. If legal proceedings are not commenced at Court by the third
anniversary of your accident, you will, in all likelihood, lose the ability to claim.
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If you are injured as a result of what you believe to have been negligent medical
treatment, you still have a time period within which to make a claim. However, in
this instance, it will be three years from the date that you knew that your injury
was linked to the negligent treatment. This can be some years after the initial
treatment was received.
Longer periods of time can also apply if your ‘injury’ is actually a disease process.
An example of this is where there has been exposure to asbestos, where it may
be many years after exposure before you realise that you have developed an
asbestos related disease.
In fatal accident cases, the three year time period begins from the date of death
in an accident case or the date that the death was linked to negligent treatment
in medical negligence cases. Alternatively, if someone dies whilst in the middle