The time limit in the United Kingdom for making a personal injury claim is three years. That three year limit starts from the date your injuries became clear. In the legal industry this is known as your Date of Limitation or your Date of Knowledge. So if you were injured in a car crash through no fault of your own last year, then you are eligible to make a personal injury claim from a time point of view. After three years, your accident claim will be statute barred or time-barred, preventing you from bringing your claim forward.
The sooner you make a claim the better
Although you have three years to make a claim, however, the sooner you make a claim the better from a solicitor’s point of view. The reason being that there is a better chance of collecting all evidence available, such as CCTV footage and dashboard camera footage if it is available. The longer time goes on the bigger the risk of evidence perishing. However, such evidence is in no way claim-critical, so regardless an experienced solicitor will happily take on your car crash UK claim, if the only evidence is the word of two drivers that a collision did happen at a particular time and on a particular day. This is a sound basis for an injury claim.
Maximum pay-outs and split liability agreements
The strength of your claim depends on your liability and your solicitor’s ability to prove that you were not at fault. You will get a maximum compensation pay-out if it can be shown that you were in no way responsible for your accident. However, often all the parties involved in a claim have to go on is the word of two drivers, and under such circumstances split liability may be agreed. If this is the case, then your solicitor may advise you to settle on a 75/25 or 50/50 basis, if the other side says that you were partly responsible.
This can be a really tough pill to swallow if you feel as though you were not at fault for your accident, but sometimes, agreeing split liability is the best move. Some accidents are very clear-cut however. An example of a clear-cut accident is another driver shunting you in the rear at a roundabout. Obviously, you can’t be at fault for such an accident so the other side will have no choice but to accept total liability. If this is the case, then your solicitor will undoubtedly push for the maximum amount of compensation possible – they will demand a settlement figure that is fair and proportionate to your injuries and your financial losses.