If you are in the situation where you have been injured in an accident, sometime in the last three years, and the injuries you sustained were severe enough to need medical attention, you are probably entitled to make a personal injury compensation claim.
Trying to make a claim yourself would be time consuming, complex and stressful, all things that using a good injury lawyer will take away from you, but how soon after your accident should you make your claim?
The time limits
With a few exceptions, personal injury claims have to be made within three years of the accident happening. The exceptions are:
- If you were below 18 at the time of the incident and no one made a claim on your behalf you have until your 21st birthday to start your claim.
- If the accident was on a ship or plain, the time limit is 2 years.
- Crimes of violence for which you claim criminal injury compensation has a time limit of 2 years, unless you were below 18 when you have till you 20th birthday.
- Industrial illnesses can take up to 40 years to show themselves and in this case you have 3 years from the date of diagnosis.
- With a fatality, if the victim lived for a time after the accident, the family has 3 years from the date of death to make their claim.
Why wait till the time limit is nearly up to make your claim? It is far better to start the processes when everything in fresh in your mind and the minds of everyone else involved.
Making your claim
There should be no reason why you cannot contact injury lawyers to start your claim today. The sooner your claim is started, the sooner it can be processed and the sooner you will receive your compensation.
Many victims think that suing for damages takes years to be finalised, and you will always read in the media about the cases that have taken a long time. Just the same as they will report the outlandish claims or the fraudulent claims – that’s what sells newspapers.
The majority of claims are for ordinary people, genuinely injured in accidents that were not their fault, and for those victims, making the claim as soon as they are able to after the accident is the best way forward.
Your case will stand more chance of success the earlier you make your claim, partly because the evidence will be deemed to be more reliable. It is much easier to remember how something happened last week, than how something happened nearly three years ago, and it can be the minor memory lapses that ruin your claim. As times passes, memories change and can become less clear for many people. This can be a problem as to prove your innocence you want your evidence to be clear and concise. Don’t delay, make your claim today.
