Limitation Act 1980

The time limit for bringing a claim is called "limitation" and is governed by the Limitation Act 1980.  The primary purpose of the limitation period is to prevent a party from the injustice of having to face a stale claim.

Claims brought late can be difficult to deal with because evidence may not have been preserved, or may have been destroyed.  Memories also fade with time.  The law therefore provides a complete technical defence to claims brought within England and Wales outside of the limitation period, subject to a few important exceptions.

For the claim to be brought within the limitation period court proceedings have to be issued.  You cannot just tell the other side that you intend to bring a claim and rely on this.

There is nothing to stop a claim being brought outside the limitation period.  It is then for the Defendant to raise limitation as a defence.

To calculate a limitation period you firstly have to know when time starts to run.  For personal injury claims this is the later of the date of the accident giving rise to the injury, the date the injured party became aware of the injury and entitlement to claim, the injured party's 18th birthday or where the injured party is under a disability the date that disability ceased or they died.  If the injured party dies then time is either calculated as above or, if they die immediately following the accident, from the date of the accident.

The limitation period for claims involving personal injury is 3 years from time starting to run.  However, in appropriate cases the Court has the jurisdiction to allow claims to be brought out of time irrespective of the fact that the claim is brought outside of the limitation period.

For claims which do not involve personal injury time starts to run from the earliest date that the aggrieved party was aware of the facts which establish the claim.  This will often be the same date as for personal injury claims.  Claims which do not involve personal injury must be brought within 6 years.  The Court has no discretion to allow a claim to be brought after this period if the Defendant raises limitation as a defence.

Foreign claims can be more problematic, as they may be governed by the law of the country where the claim arose.  Also, specific claims such as relating to air travel are governed by specific rules (under the Warsaw Convention a claim relating to air travel has to be brought within 1 year).

We are here to help 24 hours a day 365 days a year.  Either e-mail us anytime, call (01296) 662770 (Nick) or (01525) 373322 (Richard) during the normal working day or (07973) 424178 in an emergency.