The law says that you only have a set amount of time in which you can start a civil claim. The law calls this the ‘limitation period’. Courts are very strict about this deadline so it is important to know how much time you have got to start your claim.
There are different limitation periods for different types of cases, but for the cases we look at in this guide the usual limitation period will be either three or six years.
Time limits for cases about breach of contract
The limitation period for a contract claim is six years from the date the contract was broken. This means that you must start any court proceedings by the sixth anniversary of the event that broke the contract.
Sofia's story
Sofia works as a self-employed photographer. A few years ago, she was going through a bad patch and her accounts got in a muddle. She recently got herself together and discovered she had quite a few unpaid invoices between four and eight years old. She is still in time to claim for the ones under six years old, but not for the ones over six years old.
This will be the date when part or all of the contract was broken because one of the people or organisations involved failed or refused to do something that they committed to doing under the contract. This date may or may not be the same as the date when you first realise that the contract has been broken, perhaps because the damage only happens later.
Doris's story
Doris loves her garden but can no longer look after it herself as her health is poor. She has a gardener who comes once a week for an hour to mow her small lawn and tidy up the flower bed and for this she pays him £40 a month. Unfortunately, she’s been in hospital for last four months. When she gets home, she finds that her garden is completely overgrown and that her gardener stopped doing the gardening three months ago even though she had continued to pay him.
The ‘date of the breach of contract’ is the date when the gardener stopped gardening, not the date when Doris came out of hospital to discover her overgrown garden.
It is possible for a contract to change and shorten the limitation period for claims brought under that contract. However, the rules around this are complex. If you think that the contract under which you’re trying to start a case specifies a shorter limitation period, you need to get proper legal advice to assess the effectiveness of that term of the contract.
If you are under 18 or don’t have mental capacity at the time at which the contract was broken (for example if you were sectioned under the Mental Health Act, or if you have dementia) the time only starts once or if you have mental capacity again. So, if you regain your mental capacity you have six years from that point in which to start your claim. It is very important to note that if you gain capacity at any point following the contract being broken the limitation clock starts and cannot later be stopped, even if you lose capacity again.
If there has been fraud or deliberate concealment so that you discover the problem after 6 years have passed, you may have more time, but you would need to get proper legal advice first.
Time limits for cases about personal injury
The limitation period for a personal injury claim is three years from the date of the injury. This usually means that you must start any court proceedings by the third anniversary of your accident.
In some circ*mstances the limitation period is longer. So, if you only become aware of an injury much later then you have three years from the date you discovered, or could reasonably have discovered, the cause of your injury.
Alf's story
Alf retired when he was 65, and is now 72. For the last 2 or 3 years he has suffered shortness of breath, which he put down to age, and being overweight. Alf’s shortness of breath recently got worse and he developed a cough and so he visited his GP. Alf’s GP took a work history and after some tests told Alf that he has a lung disease caused by the dust from working in a pottery all his adult life. The GP also told him that it can take up to 15 years for symptoms to emerge. Although it is over 7 years since Alf was exposed to the dust, he is in time to claim as he has only just found out about it.
If you are injured under the age of 18, the clock only starts to run down when you turn 18, so you have until your 21st birthday to start court proceedings. (If you start a case when you are under 18, your parents or other adults have to bring proceedings on your behalf.)
Siv and Naz's story
Two years ago, Siv and his daughter Naz, who was 14 at the time, were passengers when they were in a car accident which was the driver’s fault. They both suffered fractures and took quite a while to recover. They didn’t start legal action at the time, as Naz was upset and her parents thought being inlvoved in a court case would make it worse for her. Now Naz is in the middle of her GCSEs. As a family, they decide that Siv will have to start his claim, because it is getting fairly close to the end of limitation period. Naz will leave hers and make her own decision about what she wants to do when she is 17 or 18. At that point she will still have three or four years in which to start her case, and she will be able to use a lot of Siv’s evidence about the accident in her own case.
If you are under 18 or you don’t have mental capacity at the time you are injured, for example if you were sectioned under the Mental Health Act, or if you have dementia, time only starts to run once or if you have mental capacity again. So, if you regain your mental capacity, you have three years from that point in which to start your claim.
Time limits for cases about negligence or breach of duty not involving personal injury
- The limitation period for negligence claims (that are not personal injury) is six years from the date of the negligent act.
- If you only become aware of the negligence much later, you have three years from the date you discovered, or could reasonably have discovered it.
If you are under 18 or you don’t have mental capacity at the time the problem occurs (for example, because you are sectioned under the Mental Health Act, or you have dementia) the time only starts once or if you have mental capacity again. So youhave six years from the point you regain your mental capacity in which to start your claim. It is very important to note that if you gain capacity at any point following the negligent act (or the date at which you knew about it), the limitation clock starts and cannot be stopped later, even if you lose capacity again.
Joe’s story
Eight years ago, Joe decided to have his bath replaced by a walk-in shower and fully tiled bathroom. A local firm did the work. Last week about ten tiles fell off the shower wall. Fortunately, no-one was hurt. Joe called in a plumber, who showed him that the water pipes for the shower had been incorrectly fitted, and there had been a slow leak behind the tiling which meant the whole wall needed replacing. Although the work was over six years ago, Joe will be in time to claim for negligence as he could not reasonably have discovered the problem earlier.
Summary of time limits
The primary limitation periods are:
1. Claims for breach of contract:6 years from the date the contract was broken.
2. Claims for negligence not involving personal injury: six years from the date of the negligent act or 3 years from the date of knowledge of the negligent act, whichever is the later.
3. Claims for personal injury:3 years from the date of injury or the date of knowledge of the injury or cause of action which caused the injury, whichever is later. (The court has discretion to ignore this time limit if it would be fair to do so).
If your claim falls within the primary limitation period then you will definitely be in time to start your claim.
It is important to bear in mind any of the exceptions to the time limits explained above, however if you believe these apply to you then you should get legal advice as soon as possible before deciding whether or not it’s worth starting your claim.
