You do not have an indefinite period to file a claim. To prevent people from being sued for events that happened many years before (when all the evidence for these events is likely to be difficult to locate or in poor condition), lawmakers have set a time limit for filing a claim.
Why might you wait to file a claim?
If you have been injured due to someone else’s negligence, the first thing you want to do is heal and get better. Some people find that filing a claim is a very stressful experience and putting yourself through a level of stress while you are injured will not benefit you in any way.
Filing a claim is always easier when you know exactly what you are claiming, a claim for a broken leg that took 12 months to fully heal will be much easier to value than a claim for a broken leg that is still healing and not yet healed. we know. how long will it take to heal It is possible to estimate, but the estimate is always at risk of being inaccurate and once you have settled a claim, you cannot go back to the Defendant for more compensation because you settled low.
How much time do you have?
While it is advisable to wait until it has healed before considering filing a claim for financial compensation, due to the stress involved in filing a claim, as well as the difficulties involved in assessing an injury that could take six weeks or six months to heal. You can’t wait indefinitely.
For a personal injury claim, such as slip and trip injuries, traffic accidents, work injuries, etc. you will have three years to make a claim. It is three years from the date of your accident before you have to file a claim form with the Court and pay the court fee.
If the person who suffered the negligence and injury is a child, for legal purposes a person under the age of 18 is understood, then the three-year period does not run from the date of your accident. Instead, your limitation clock will start counting down from the date of your 18th birthday. This means that a person injured when under the age of 18 must file a claim form with the Court and pay the Court fee before serving time. the 21 years.
If your injury was caused by an assault and you are filing a claim with the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), you only have two years to file a claim.
If you intend to use an attorney to file your claim, it is highly recommended that you approach one prior to the limitation deadline. I would recommend at least six months or more before the limitation period runs out. This is to give your attorneys time to fully investigate your claim, obtaining your medical records, reviewing them, instructing a medical expert, receiving and reviewing the report, calculating your potential financial losses and the value of your injury. All of these jobs take time, and once the Court issues a claim form, your claim is subject to a Court schedule and deadlines. If for any reason you and your solicitor are unable to meet the deadline set by the Court, you should apply to the Court for more time, at the time of writing the fee for filing an application is £100.00.
What happens if you miss your limitation deadline
If you do not file a claim form with the Court within three years, your claim will be time-barred. This means that by law you will not be able to file a claim, you will have missed the opportunity to settle your claim and potentially receive financial compensation for your injury.
You may file a claim after the three-year deadline has passed and then argue in court that you have a good reason for missing the deadline and that the court should allow your claim to continue. However, this is a risky approach, very risky. If you miss the deadline by one day, you risk losing the right to file your claim and you will lose money you have paid in court fees, expert fees, and any other expenses incurred to file your claim.
A good excuse is very subjective, what you think is a good excuse could be very different from what the court thinks is a good excuse. But, to be clear, ignorance is not a good excuse. It is very unlikely that you will get it on the grounds that you were unaware of the statute of limitations until you filed your claim form.
conclusion
In conclusion, you should now have an understanding of the limitation and why it is sometimes advisable to wait a while before filing a claim, but you should still keep an eye on your limitation deadline. You should also now have an understanding of the consequences of missing your deadline.