In order to bring a successful medical negligence claim you must do so in the time period set out by the Court. The law states that you must lodge your claim in Court before the limitation period expires.
If you fail to bring your claim within this time limit you may be prevented from commencing proceedings and therefore run the risk of not receiving any compensation for your injuries and losses.
If your claim has not been settled, and you have suffered personal injuries, you must issue Court proceedings within three years from the date of the allegedly negligent medical treatment, or within three years from the date in which you become aware that you have suffered an injury as a result of negligent medical treatment. Therefore, it may also be possible to claim if the event occurred more than three years ago, but you were not aware of your injury or that there was potential negligence.
It is unlikely to discover that an injury was caused ten years after the negligence, but it is not impossible. In this situation, we will need to consider the facts of your case before we can advise on when your ‘date of knowledge’ would have been.
There are some exceptions to this time limit that can allow you to make a claim for medical negligence after the three years have passed:
If the claim is brought on behalf of a child, the three years do not start until the child has turned 18 years old. Therefore, if the child is under the age of 18 years when the injury occurred, a claim can be brought up until their 21st Birthday.
If you are assessed as not having mental capacity or are a protected party, the limitation will not apply. An adult who lacks capacity is someone who is unable to manage their own affairs and must have a litigation friend to conduct the proceedings on his or her behalf. An assessment may need to take place to assess your capacity as a person is deemed to have capacity unless proved otherwise.
The Court does have the discretion to extend the limitation period however, in this situation, we will need to consider the facts of your case before we can advise you.
Therefore, if your claim falls under one of the special circumstances listed above then yes, it is possible to claim medical negligence after 10 years. However, this will need to be carefully considered before we can advise you.
Why should I start a medical negligence claim early?
Due to the complexities of medical negligence claims it is important that you act sooner rather than later. This is to allow ample time for us to investigate your potential claim. If you or a member of your family have concerns about the treatment you received, please do not hesitate to contact us at Graystons on 0151 645 0055. We will be happy to speak to see if we can help you in relation to a potential medical negligence claim.
Please be assured there is no initial charge for getting in touch with us and if we are able to assist you in relation to a potential medical negligence claim, we may be able to act for you under a Conditional Fee Agreement (No Win No Fee Agreement).
We hope you found this post helpful. If you would like assistance with a medical negligence case, please contact us via our contact form or call us directly on 0151 645 0055
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