From the date of the accident causing the injury, the Claimant will usually have three years from the date of the accident to commence court proceedings. If the Claimant fails to initiate Court proceedings within three years from the date of the accident, then the claim will usually not be able to continue. Under section 33 of The Limitation Act 1980 the Court does have a discretion to override the three-year limit in certain circumstances.
The three-year period usually runs from the date of the accident but sometimes it can be argued that the three-year period should run from the date of knowledge of injury when the Claimant first knew that the injury was significant, attributable in whole or in part to the Defendants actions or negligence and the identity of the Defendant.
If a child under 18 is involved in an accident and wishes to pursue a claim, then the three-year period will only commence from the date of the child’s 18th birthday. If the Claimant sustains an accident on a plane or a boat, the limitation period is two years rather than three years.