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Medical Negligence Cases - Limitation Act 1980The provisions of the Limitation Act 1980 apply to medical negligence cases. For most compensation claims that do not involve personal injury there is a time limit of six years however in the case of personal injury matters which includes medical negligence cases a claim must be settled or proceedings must have been issued in a court of law within three years of the incident causing injury or within three years of the injury being discovered failing which the claim will become statute barred and the opportunity to recover compensation will be lost forever. “Limitation Period” is a legal term which refers to the limits that are placed on the amount of time you have to settle a legal claim for damages. Exceptions to the general three-year limitation period do exist. Those exceptions are outlined below. In the vast majority of medical negligence cases, however, you have only three years to bring your claim and if that time period expires, then you are forever barred from seeking compensation for your personal injury. Three years may seem like a long time and some potential claimants do wait until the last minute before seeking legal representation however, because of the amount of time necessary to investigate a medical negligence case, a solicitor usually needs at least a full 6 months before the expiration of the limitation period. If you leave seeking representation too late most solicitors will simply refuse to even consider representing you in a medical negligence case. SOLICITORS HELPLINE FREE ADVICE 0844 332 0124 Reckoning The 3 Year PeriodThe three-year limitation period begins on the earliest possible date upon which the victim had the knowledge, or may have been reasonably expected to acquire the knowledge, that is necessary to bring a legal claim for compensation. The victim must know three things before the limitation period begins running: the material facts, that their injury was serious enough to warrant a legal claim and the identity of the likely parties to the claim. In medical negligence cases, this rule means that the three-year period will not start to run until the victim discovers the problem, which can, in some cases, be several years after the medical treatment was obtained. SOLICITORS HELPLINE FREE ADVICE 0844 332 0124 Exceptions To The 3 Year RuleCertain exceptions to the three-year rule exist for medical negligence cases and when an exception applies, the time period may either be stopped or delayed. In addition to the exceptions outlined below, the court is also given considerable discretion to extend the time period in cases where exceptional circumstances exist. Note, however, that this is a rare occurrence, and it is unwise to rely on the possibility of an extension being granted by the court. The two main exceptions to the three-year rule are :-
SOLICITORS HELPLINE FREE ADVICE 0844 332 0124 Specialist SolicitorsOur specialist solicitors provide legal representation in medical negligence cases to victims located throughout the UK. All of our solicitors are members of the Solicitors Regulation Authority clinical negligence panel. To receive free legal advice about your potential medical negligence claim, simply complete the contact form or email our offices or phone our helpline. One of our expert solicitors will contact you to discuss your case and advise you of your options. There are absolutely no charges, and you are under no obligation to use our services. SOLICITORS HELPLINE FREE ADVICE 0844 332 0124 |
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