If you have been injured in an accident, you should act promptly as there are strict limitations for making an application before the court. The circumstances of the facts effect how statutory time limit restrictions apply.
With regards to a personal injury claim, the time limit to bring a claim is 3 years from the date of the injury. However, in New South Wales, the Limitation Act 1968 (NSW) (the Act) was amended to confer that a person claiming the injury needs to establish the date they discovered the injury instead of the strict time period of 3 years from the date of the cause of action.
This means a claim does not depend upon a strict counting of 3 years from the date of the act or omission that resulted in the injury. It is now based on the date of discoverability.
The 3 years from the date of injury is reasonably straight forward for cases where someone slips and falls or is injured in a car accident, as the date of discoverability is immediate.
However, in some circumstances, a person may not discover their injury until a later point, such as when they see a doctor and they are informed of their injury, even though the cause of the injury dates some years before.
The asbestos cases are prime examples of how a person is unaware that they inhaled the asbestos or that the asbestos fibres had grown into lung tumours for many years. The same can be said of childhood sexual abuse cases where someone was abused at an institution. A person who was sexually abused when they were a child may not have discovered a psychiatric injury for many years later.
For that reason, the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) was amended to include section 6A which introduced no limitation period for child abuse actions which includes sexual abuse or serious physical abuse. An action that relates to the death or personal injury to a person resulting from an act or omission that constitutes child abuse of the person may be brought at any time and is not subject to any limitation period.
Every case is different and depends on the facts. When considering time limitations, one must always consider the date of discovery rather than strictly counting from the date of injury.
This is not legal advice.
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