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What is the Statute of Limitations?

The Statute of Limitations Ireland is the law that governs the length of time people have in order to issue legal proceedings against a criminal or negligent party, or to have civil cases brought before the courts. The act was first introduced in 1957 to introduce time constraints on claims for land and property, and has since been extended to include tax evasion (10 years), criminal assault (6 years) and even the length of time a case must be brought to court if you failed to pay your television licence (1 year).

One of the most quoted sections within the Statute of Limitations Ireland concerns the length of time within which an injured party has to instigate proceedings against a negligent party in the case of personal injury compensation. With the latest amendment to the Statute of Limitations Ireland Act (2004), people wishing to make a claim for compensation have two years from the “date of knowledge” of their injuries to have their case prepared and submitted to the Injuries Board Ireland for assessment. Exceptions to this rule exist and include personal injury claims where children have been the injured party in an accident and cases involving medical negligence.

The Statute of Limitations Ireland and the Date of Knowledge

The “date of knowledge” within the Statute of Limitations Ireland is the date on which you discovered you were injured. Whereas that might be the date on which you were involved in a road traffic accident or accident at work through which you sustained your ailment, injuries which develop over a period of time are classified as having their “date of knowledge” as the date on which they were diagnosed. Therefore, in the event of a work-related illness, such as a partial loss of hearing acquired by working in a noisy environment without appropriate protection, the date on which your tests show that you have suffered an industrial injury becomes your date of knowledge.

The Statute of Limitations Ireland is one of the most important things a solicitor has to consider prior to accepting a case for personal injury compensation. If a case is complicated, involves a negligent party that is unwilling to admit liability for your injuries or there is an element of contributory negligence on your behalf, the case may take some time to send to the Injuries Board Ireland, be rejected and have an authorisation issued before it can be presented at court. It is very easy to conceive that a quite genuine claim for personal injury compensation could become time-barred if not acted upon with due haste.

Consequently, we have established a legal claims advice helpline for anybody who is concerned about how the Statute of Limitations Ireland may affect their entitlement to claim compensation, when they have sustained an injury which was not wholly their fault. Our lines are open seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. All calls are treated in the strictest confidence and there is no obligation on you to proceed with a claim once you have spoken with us.

Our Promise to You:

  • 100% Free, consultation with an experienced solicitor
  • 100% Practical and impartial advice
  • 100% Accurate and up-to-date information
  • 100% Courteous and confidential service

What You Can Expect When You Call

When you call our legal claims advice service, you will be speaking with a personal injury claims solicitor with many years experience of helping people get fair and adequate compensation after sustaining an injury. One of the first questions we will ask is when your accident happened, as we will be able to ascertain from your answer what time is left within the constraints made by the Statute of Limitations Ireland to file a claim.

We will also ask you to tell us how your injury occurred, what medical treatment you received for it and whether the treatment is ongoing and prevents you from working or looking after your family. If there are other factors which have affected your quality of life, it is advisable to bring that to our attention as well. You are at liberty to ask as many questions as you think are relevant during our discussion, and we will answer each one to the best of our ability.

Wherever possible, we will make a preliminary assessment of your case, advise you whether you have a claim for compensation which is worth your while to pursue, and advise you how long it is going to take to prepare – ensuring that you know it will be ready before being time-barred by the Statute of Limitations Ireland. We will also, if possible, advise you of the general level of compensation we would anticipate you receive.

We tend to conclude our initial conversations by summarising what we have discussed, listing a selection of tailor-made options available to you and asking you to consider how you would like to proceed. You do not have to answer immediately and are not under any obligation to use our services in the future; however, we would advise that you come to a decision fairly quickly as the Statute of Limitations Ireland clock is ticking.

Therefore, we would recommend that you contact us at your earliest possible convenience. If it is not a suitable time to call right now, please leave your contact details in the call-back box below, indicating when would be the best time to phone, and one of our friendly and helpful team will be back in touch with you soon.