Blog

Home » General » Professional Negligence Claims – 3 Year Deadline

Professional Negligence Claims – 3 Year Deadline

Rebecca here, blogging again.

Happy New Year (although it’s February now so maybe a bit late to be saying that).

I thought I would take a look at time limits and what happens when a Solicitor misses an important time limit.

Under the Limitation Act 1980, the limitation period for a personal injury claim is 3 years. That is to say that a Claimant has 3 years from the date of the injury, or from the date of knowledge, to commence court proceedings against the party responsible. If a claim is not brought within 3 years of the date of the accident, the claim will be Statute barred.

Sadly, Solicitors sometimes miss this 3 year deadline for whatever reason and this can leave injured Claimant’s in a position where they have a perfectly good claim which can no longer be pursued against the Defendant.

Fortunately for those Claimants (and hopefully you will never find yourself in this position) a claim can potentially be made against their own solicitors for Professional Negligence, if a deadline such as limitation is missed, which leads to your claim being effectively “struck out” and with no option of pursuing it further against the Defendant.

We’ve all seen and heard the adverts “Have you been injured in the last 3 years as a result of an accident that wasn’t your fault”. So it’s pretty straight forward then isn’t it? If you bring a claim within 3 years you will be ok, right? WRONG!

There are important exceptions to the 3 year limitation period, which Solicitors should be aware of, but which are often overlooked or misunderstood.

If someone is injured in the air, or at sea, then the period is only 2 years.

If your accident happens abroad then the relevant limitation period is that which applies to the country where the accident happens.

As a general rule, for children, the limitation period does not begin to run until the child’s 18th birthday.

For Solicitors acting for Claimants there are simple steps that can be taken to protect yourself against the pitfalls of missing a limitation period. Gordon Exall helpfully provides the “essential limitation checklist” in his blog 26 May 2014, where he highlights practical, and obvious steps that you can take to avoid negligence claims. He sets out points such as ensuring that the limitation date is marked on the front of the file and that relevant dates are entered into diaries and case management systems with reminders in advance.

Obviously some firms are not implementing these steps, and for one reason or another solicitors are still missing important deadlines. If you think that your Solicitor may have missed limitation, or has missed another deadline which means you can no longer pursue your claim then give me a call. I will be happy to discuss it with you further and see if there may be something I can do to help.

www.ibbotsonbrady.co.uk

Ibbotson Brady Solicitors Limited
Ibbotson Brady Solicitors Limited is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). Our SRA number is 607649. The SRA is the independent regulatory body of the Law Society of England and Wales. Registered office: Park House, Park Square West, Leeds LS1 2PW, Our services are provided by Solicitors of England and Wales. The SRA Code of Conduct applicable to Solicitors in England and Wales may be viewed at http://www.sra.org.uk Our VAT Registration number is 772 6287 01. Our Company Registration (England) number is 8699543 The information that is made available on our Website is intended for general information purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice or any other type of advice. We accept no liability for any loss arising as a result of reliance on the information contained on our Website. Whilst we try to ensure that all information on our Website is accurate, no representation or warranty is given that the content on our Website is accurate, complete, up to date or error free. Use of our Website is at your own risk. We take reasonable steps to prevent viruses and malicious code on our Website but no liability is accepted for them.

Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Terms and Conditions
Copyright © 2022 Ibbotson Brady Solicitors. All rights Reserved.
Designed and Developed by JDR Group