If you have been involved in an accident or suffered an injury that was not your fault, then you only have a limited time in which to make a claim for compensation.
Each year, thousands of people sustain injuries through mishaps, slips, negligence, and accidents that were avoidable. The Personal Injury Lawyers at Lamb Brooks handle a wide variety of claims for people to help get them back on their feet, assist with recovery and compensate them for the pain, suffering, loss of amenity and any financial losses incurred whilst injured.
After an accident, your first priority is going to be seeking medical attention and getting yourself back to good health. Depending on the severity of your accident or injuries, then you may also have a lot of other things to contend with such as insurance claims, working arrangements, childcare, further medical treatment, counselling, or rehabilitation. So, it is quite common for a lot of time to pass before people start to consider making a claim. The trouble with this it that the claims process can be lengthy and the timeframes for starting a claim are strict.
Types of Injury Claim
There are many different types of accident claims that you can seek financial remedy for. You might also want to pursue a claim to ensure that action is taken to stop others from suffering the same injuries. Some injury claims include:
- Road Traffic Incidents
- Pedestrian Claims
- Cyclist Accidents
- Injuries at Work
- Asbestos Claims
- Injury whilst on public transport
- Injuries in Public Places, such as shopping centres, gyms, leisure facilities
- Holiday or Cruise accidents
- Trips, slips and falls on public pathways
- Sporting injuries
- Drowning claims
- Hearing loss
Injuries can take many forms and individuals should not believe that claims are only pursued for major life-changing injuries. There are many claims pursued for injuries sustained such as burns, scalds, cuts, bruising, sprains, ligament damage, fractures, muscular damage, internal injuries, facial injuries, loss of limbs, organ damage, head or brain injuries, psychological trauma etc.
We do sadly represent families or partners who are making a claim on behalf of a loved one who has died due to an accident or injury that was not their fault.
When to Make a Claim
If you or someone you care about has been hurt in an incident that was caused by the negligence of someone else, then you could explore making a claim for compensation.
You should first attend to any physical injuries that you have to ensure that you get prompt medical attention.
In order to succeed in pursuing a claim you will need to prove that:
- The incident was caused wholly or partly by someone else’s negligence; and
- The incident resulted in physical or psychological harm and financial loss.
You will need to be able to prove that someone or a business / organisation / authority was at fault. For example, faulty equipment in the workplace, damaged pathways or an unexpected wet floor without any warning signs would all be signs that someone has failed in their duties to keep you safe, whether that be at work or in public.
There must be an identifiable or diagnosed injury to make a claim. Often people will experience a ‘near miss’ and due to the traumatic experience, feel that there should be a claim to make, however without a clear injury this is not always possible, and, in this instance, it is best to make an official complaint to the relevant source. As a rule of thumb, the injury should be something that lasts or impacts you for longer than 3 weeks, but it is best to speak to a lawyer about this for guidance as every case is different and is judged on it’s own merits.
If your injury caused you to take time off work, to miss out on paid sick leave, incur additional expenses (such as treatment, prescription, travel, care expenses etc.) then you might have a claim for financial loss. If you run your own business or are self-employed and your earnings have been impacted by you being unable to work then you are likely to be severely impacted by financial suffering.
The best way to determine if you have a claim or not is to call one of our Injury Lawyers on 01256 844888. Someone can speak to you free of charge with no obligation to go ahead and can help establish whether you have a valid claim and guide you on how much compensation you could expect as a result.
Time Restrictions on Making a Claim
There are strict time limits on making a claim and the longer time goes by, the more difficult it is to accurately recall details of the incident and locate vital evidence.
The general time limit for making a personal injury claim is 3 years from the date of the accident or date of knowledge.
The claim must either have settled within that time or court proceedings must have been issued by the 3rd anniversary of the incident, which means your claim should be started in plenty of time before then. The clock starts ticking from the date of the injury or your date of knowledge of the injury, so if you suffered an injury on 1st March 2023 you would have until 1st March 2026 to bring a claim.
There are just a few exceptions to the 3 year time limit.
- Claims involving children.
You must be over 18 to bring a claim, therefore, parents can either act on their children’s behalf, or children themselves can bring a claim once they have turned 18. Once turning 18 they will have until their 21st birthday to bring a claim.
- Claims where there is lack of mental capacity.
Similar to the delayed claim when the date of knowledge does not come until later, someone who has lost mental capacity to represent themselves in legal matters due to the injury they have suffered will not be subjected to the 3 year time limit. They will instead have until the time where their capacity returns, or if it does not return, then they have an open-ended opportunity to make a claim, but will need assistance from a family member or someone with Power of Attorney to handle their affairs on their behalf.
What to do if your Time is Running Out?
If you suffered an injury some time ago due to someone else’s negligence and know that your limitation is coming round quickly, then the best thing to do is to make sure you act promptly and get in touch. Ensure that you gather your evidence and paperwork together and instruct a solicitor who specialises in Personal Injury Claims, rather than a generalist, so that they can issue proceedings without delay if necessary.
Check reviews and do your research to ensure that you are instructing a solicitor who has the requisite knowledge and experience and that will be able to act quickly and diligently on your case. This is particularly important when pressed for time.
The legal system enforces a very strict timeframe to ensure fairness and will not make exceptions.
Acting For You
Lamb Brooks work on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis so there is no risk involved when instructing us to pursue your claim.
Your first step is to speak to one of our specialist injury lawyers who will take your details and get back to you as soon as possible to confirm whether you have a claim we can help you with.
Our team are friendly, experienced and pro-active litigators who will fight your claim to get you the highest level of compensation possible. With an excellent track record and numerous happy clients, we are certainly able to help you find a way forward, but if you need some reassurance then please take a look at our Google reviews from clients which will give you peace of mind.
To speak to someone today, please call us on 01256 844888 (office is open from 08:30 until 17:30 Monday to Friday), email us on enquiries@lambbrooks.com (which is monitored regularly throughout the working day) or alternatively, if you are thinking about your claim outside of working hours, then you can speak to our online chat assistant. They will not be able to provide you with any legal advice, but they can take your contact details and any other information you are willing to share at that point and arrange for someone to get in touch as soon as they are available.
The contents of this article are for the purposes of general awareness only. They do not purport to constitute legal or professional advice. The law may have changed since this article was published. Readers should not act on the basis of the information included and should take appropriate professional advice upon their own particular circumstances.