Time limits for UK accident at work claims.

The three-year rule in plain English

For a one-off accident, time runs from the day it happened. If your accident was on 12 March 2025, court proceedings must be issued by 11 March 2028 at the latest. Settling a claim, sending a letter of claim, registering in the MOJ Portal or being mid-negotiation does not stop the clock. Only the formal issue of proceedings at court does.

Missing the deadline is almost always fatal to the claim. The defendant will plead a section 11 limitation defence and the court will strike the case out unless one of the narrow exceptions below applies.

"Date of knowledge" — for industrial disease

For latent injuries — hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS), noise-induced hearing loss, asbestos-related disease, occupational asthma, dermatitis, repetitive strain — time runs from your "date of knowledge" under section 14 of the Limitation Act 1980. That is the first date on which you knew, or could reasonably have known, all four of:

• That your injury is significant (significant enough to justify starting proceedings against a defendant who admitted liability and could pay).
• That the injury is attributable, in whole or in part, to the act or omission alleged to be negligent.
• The identity of the defendant.
• If the act or omission was someone other than the defendant, the identity of that person and the additional facts supporting bringing the claim against the defendant (e.g. an employer).

Typically the date of knowledge is the date a doctor first connects your symptoms to your job — for example, a written diagnosis of HAVS Stockholm grade 2V from an occupational health physician, or a GP letter linking your hearing loss to noise exposure at work.

Exceptions to the three-year rule

• Under 18. The clock does not start until your 18th birthday. Claims can be brought up to age 21. A "litigation friend" (usually a parent) brings the claim while the child is a minor; if a settlement is reached it must be approved by the court under CPR 21.10 to be binding.
• Lacking mental capacity. No time limit runs at all while incapacity continues, under section 28 of the Limitation Act and the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Time only starts to run once capacity is regained — which for serious brain injury may be never.
• Fatal accidents. Three years from the date of death, or from the personal representative's or dependant's date of knowledge, whichever is later — Fatal Accidents Act 1976 and Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1934.
• Section 33 discretion. The court has a discretionary power to disapply the limitation period if it is equitable to do so, weighing prejudice to both parties and reasons for delay. This is exceptional, never to be relied on, and the burden is on the claimant.
• Criminal injuries (CICA). The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority has a much shorter two-year limit, usually from the date of the incident. Discretion to extend exists but is rarely exercised.
• Vibration White Finger / coal-dust schemes. Specific government schemes have their own deadlines, almost all now closed.

Limitation across the UK

The three-year limitation rule applies broadly across the United Kingdom but the underlying statutes differ:

• England & Wales: Limitation Act 1980, section 11.
• Northern Ireland: Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989, Article 7.
• Scotland: Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, section 17. Scots law uses "prescription" as well as "limitation"; date-of-knowledge provisions are similar but not identical.

Why early action matters even within the three years

Evidence degrades fast. CCTV is overwritten in 14–30 days unless preserved by written request. Witnesses leave the company, change roles, retire, emigrate. Accident books go missing or "cannot be located." Memories of detail — exact lifting position, who said what to whom, what PPE was actually available — fade within months. Even if you have years left on the clock, the strength of your claim is highest in the first three months. Read how the process works and the claim-type guides.

Foreign workers and overseas accidents

The three-year rule applies to claims brought in the courts of England & Wales, regardless of the claimant's nationality, provided the court has jurisdiction. For accidents abroad, more complex rules under the Rome II Regulation (retained in UK law post-Brexit) determine which country's law applies. For a UK employer's negligence overseas, English law often applies and the standard three years runs.

What to do if your deadline is close

1. Speak to a regulated personal-injury solicitor today, not next week. Even a few days can be the difference between a claim and a struck-out case.
2. If a solicitor cannot take the case but you are within limitation, it is possible (though risky) to issue protective proceedings yourself to stop the clock.
3. Do not rely on a defendant's promises to "wait and see how you recover" — those promises do not stop limitation.

See also: claim types · how a claim works · compensation amounts.