A.In England and Wales the (normal) limitation period for personal injury claims is three years. This means that claimants have three years from the date of the accident to make a claim. If, by the third anniversary of the accident, the claim has not been settled, then court proceedings must be issued. Failure to do so could cause the claim to become statute barred, which could provide the defendant with a complete defence to the claim regardless of whether they were at fault for the accident.
If the accident happened at sea or in the air, a different limitation period may apply, as it will if the accident happened outside England and Wales. Some countries have limitation periods as little as one year.
In some cases the illness/injury does not develop until some time after the "accident". For example people who have been exposed to asbestos may not know they have contracted a disease/illness for 10, 20, 30 or 40 years after the actual exposure. In those circumstances the three-year limitation period runs from the date of knowledge of the disease/illness.
Different limitation rules apply to people under the age of 18 and people who do not have the mental capacity to give or understand instructions.