If you’ve been considering making a personal injury claim, one of the terms you may have come across is ‘limitation’. Limitation, or the limitation period is the length of time you have after an accident in which to begin legal action against the person or organisation responsible. In personal injury claims, that period is usually 3 years from the date of your accident; however there are certain exceptions to that rule.
When a personal injury claim involves claiming damages for an industrial illness such as asbestosis, industrial deafness or vibration white finger, the three year limit does not begin until either you become aware that you are suffering from an industrial disease, or you are diagnosed with the disease by a doctor. This is important in cases involving diseases such as asbestosis or mesothelioma, as very often those affected will not have any symptoms until several decades after they were exposed to asbestos. In these cases the limitation clock only starts ticking once symptoms appear, or once a doctor has diagnosed a disease.
The other common exception to the three year rule is for accidents where the victim was under 18 at the time they were injured. In these cases the victims have 3 years from their 18th birthday to begin their claim, meaning that the limitation period expires on their 21st birthday. Rather than wait until their 18th birthday, many parents of children injured in non-fault accidents choose to pursue a claim on their child’s behalf, becoming what is known as a ‘litigation friend’.
The status of ‘litigation friend’ was created to allow people who were either physically unable or too young to attend court to have a close relative make a claim on their behalf. Especially in cases where an accident has happened to a very young child, making a claim as a litigation friend is a way to ensure that compensation is recovered for the victim whilst the evidence is still there, and whilst those responsible can be easily traced, which might not be the case several years later.
In these types of claim, the money recovered for the victim is placed in a special trust fund by the court, to be given to the victim once they turn 18. In some circumstances, where the injured child might need financial assistance before their 18th birthday, for example if they have to pay for medical treatment or nursing care, then an application can be made to the court to release some of the trust monies to pay for these expenses.
If you have suffered an injury at work, or you have been injured as a child, and you would like more information regarding the limitation dates for making a personal injury claim, call Camps Solicitors today on 0800 092 8586 for free legal advice and No-Win No-Fee claims.
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