Free Legal information and Legal advice

Claims must be brought within 3 years of the accident which gives rise to the claim. The only exceptions are:

* Where a Claimant is under 18 when the accident happened. In this case the 3 years only starts to run from when he reaches 18.
* At the time of the accident the Claimant did not know that he had been injured or that the injury was caused by an accident, illness or disease. Even if this is years later, the three years will not start to run until the time the injury was discovered.

Where this limitation period is missed, the Court has power to allow the claim to proceed. It will however consider any prejudice to the Defendant before exercising its discretion.
A claim will effectively have two parts.

Firstly there is the question of liability, and any ‘contributory negligence’ on your part. It will be necessary to show that the Defendant has been negligent, and that this negligence led directly to the injury and loss you have suffered. Once negligence has been established, the second stage is to prove the loss, and decide the compensation or damages payable.

The damages will consist of an amount for pain and suffering, and for ‘loss of amenity’. This is an amount for the change in lifestyle that may have been caused by the accident, such as being unable to enjoy your favourite sport.

You may also be able to claim for monetary expenses caused by the accident. These are known as Special Damages and will include loss of earnings, traveling expenses to hospital, medical costs and in a motoring accident, the cost of car repair.

Calculating Special Damages is largely a case of listing all the expenses flowing from the accident, so it is important to keep receipts and a careful record. General damages for pain and suffering may depend upon a medical report. If there is any continuing pain and suffering or long lasting injury the amount of damages will be more. The amount is largely calculated by looking at awards made in similar cases.

When liability is agreed, but [as is often the case], the amount of damages is in dispute, or can not be finalised pending further medical evidence, an interim payment may be made.

If you receive social security benefits because of the injury and then win the case, you will have to pay back to the DSS some of the benefits received.

There is a special protocol which applies to personal injury cases, and must be followed before commencing Court Proceedings. This involves full disclosure of your claim and supporting medical evidence to the Defendant, to allow them the opportunity to settle and thereby avoid Court Costs