What is the time limit on medical negligence claims in Scotland?
In Scotland, there are strict time limits applied to personal injury and medical negligence cases. These time limits are set down in law under section 17 in the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 (written law known as legislation).
The time limit on medical negligence claims is three years from the date when the injury occurred or three years from the date you knew or ought to have known that you had sustained an injury as a result of someone’s wrongdoing.
This three year time limit is commonly referred to as time bar.
The Courts will not accept that you were unaware of these rules or that you failed to instruct a solicitor in time. You may have heard of the saying ‘ignorance of the law is no excuse’ and this is most certainly applied in these situations.
Can I make a medical negligence claim after three years?
If you’re beyond the three year time limit on medical negligence claims, your case will be time barred. In other words, you will be prevented from obtaining compensation if your case has not settled within the three year time limit or that you have not raised a court action before the expiry of the three year time limit.
As long as the Court process has been started before the three year time bar, you have beaten the time bar and this time limit no longer applies.
Are there exceptions to the time limit on medical negligence claims?
There are three circumstances where different rules apply to the medical negligence claims time limit:
1. Injured person is a child
If the injured person is a child, the clock doesn’t start running on their claim until their 16th birthday and so a parent/legal guardian has until their 19th birthday in which either to settle their claim or raise Court proceedings. In Scotland, you do not reach full legal maturity until 16 and so the time limit rules reflect this.
2. When the injured person does not have mental capacity to make their own legal decisions
If you do not have capacity and this is confirmed by a legal/medical professional, then the time limit does not apply during the time in which you did not have the capacity to make legal decisions. This is most commonly the case in serious brain injury or catastrophic injury case where the individual’s affairs are no longer managed by them and there is something called a ‘guardianship order’ in place. In these scenarios, the time limits would not apply and a court action can be raised by the appointed legal guardian on the injured person’s behalf.
3. When the wrongdoing caused death
If the wrongdoing (negligence) caused the death of the individual, the three year time limit on medical negligence claims runs from either:
- the date of that person’s death, or
- from the date you knew or ought to have known that the wrongdoing caused that person’s death.
Please see fatal claims for more information in relation to a claim involving a death.
As you will see, in general, time is of the essence in medical negligence and personal injury claims and so please do not delay getting in touch with L&M MediLaw for legal advice.
Contact L&M MediLaw Medical Negligence Solicitors Glasgow
If after reading the information above, you believe you may still be able to bring a successful claim, contact us today. L&M MediLaw will provide you with quality, compassionate, straightforward advice. To discuss your case with a member of our team, call us today on 0141 471 3078 or complete our online enquiry form and we will get back to you right away.