If you were injured as a result of negligence as a child, you may be about to run out of time to bring a claim, even if the injury you suffered continues to have a significant impact on your life.
Claims for personal injury have a limitation period – if a case has not been issued at court by the end of the limitation period, it may be “limitation-barred”. Meaning that the opportunity to bring a claim for compensation is permanently lost.
Usually, in a clinical negligence or personal injury claim, you have three years to issue proceedings at court. The three year period will generally start from the date of negligence, or, if later, the first time you knew, or should have known, that you may have been injured as a result of negligence.
There are exceptions to the three year limitation period, one of which applies to children who have been injured. Until you are 18, it is automatically assumed that you are not able to bring a claim (although your parents could bring a claim on your behalf). If you were injured as a child, your limitation period begins on your 18th birthday, regardless of how many years ago the injury occurred. This means that you have until your 21st birthday to issue your case.
Our team of experienced lawyers can help you to recover compensation, and we have expertise in a wide variety of child accident claims. We have acted in cases where there have been road traffic accidents. This includes situations where the child was in a car driven by a parent or other relative and needed to bring a claim against that relative’s insurance to compensate for the serious injuries suffered. We have acted in cases of clinical negligence, where a delay or error in diagnosis or treatment of an injury or illness has worsened the condition or caused further complications. This includes cases of testicular torsion, delay in diagnosing fractures, medication and prescription errors and other cases of medical negligence.
If you think that you have been injured as a result of negligence, it is important to seek legal advice as soon as possible. It is important to carry out a thorough investigation and start to negotiate with the defendants before issuing the case at court, if at all possible, and the sooner your solicitors can begin investigations, the better.
Our information sheets on clinical negligence cases and personal injury cases give additional information on the initial steps in a negligence case.
