For most adult personal injury claims in the Republic of Ireland, the starting point is two years from the date the cause of action accrued, or from the injured person’s statutory date of knowledge if that came later. For an injury immediately apparent after a road collision or a fall, the accident date will often be the starting point. A qualifying Injuries Resolution Board application can change the calculation for the particular parties named in it. Read the current text of section 3 of the 1991 Act.
If your accident was nearly two years ago, bring the dates and correspondence to a solicitor promptly, even if you are waiting on medical records or an insurer’s response. If two years have already passed, have the dates checked before concluding that you are out of time.
Which event starts the two years?
Section 3 applies to personal injury caused by negligence, nuisance or breach of duty. A cause of action accrues when the facts necessary to bring it exist. The later date-of-knowledge rule matters when the injury, its significance or its connection with what happened only becomes apparent later.
Under section 2 of the 1991 Act, the questions include when you knew that you had suffered a significant injury, that it was attributable at least in part to the act or omission complained of, and who the defendant was. Further facts matter where one person did the act and the claim is against someone else. The law also considers what you could reasonably have learned, including by taking appropriate expert advice.
For example, knowing that your wrist was broken when you fell may be enough for time to run even if the consultant only explains the eventual loss of movement months later. A different question arises where you had no reason to connect an injury with earlier treatment until new information emerged. The date of a later diagnosis or expert report is relevant evidence, but it does not automatically start a new two-year period. You do not have to know that someone was legally negligent for time to start running.
The one-month notice and the two-year time limit serve different purposes
Section 8 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 concerns written notice to the alleged wrongdoer describing the wrong. Notice is due within one month of accrual or the injured person’s date of knowledge, whichever is later. If notice is late without reasonable cause, the court must draw such inferences as it considers proper and, where the interests of justice require, deny or reduce the costs otherwise payable to the claimant. Missing this notice is a different issue from a claim becoming statute-barred.
Keep a copy of any letter or email sent, who received it and proof of delivery. Reporting an accident to a manager or to the Gardaí, asking for CCTV or speaking to an insurer can help preserve evidence. Those steps do not, by themselves, stop the limitation period.
What happens to the time limit during a Board application?
For a claim within the Board’s remit, section 50 of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act 2003 leaves a defined period out of the calculation. For a respondent named at the outset, that period begins when a qualifying application is made under section 11 and ends six months from the date of issue of the relevant authorisation. Any unused time from before the application matters. An authorisation does not supply a fresh two years.
There are two details worth checking on the paperwork:
- Was there a qualifying application? An unfinished online form or an initial enquiry is insufficient. For applications made on or after 4 September 2023, the requirements include the claimant’s signature and the statutory confirmations, including the one concerning the enclosed medical report. Keep the form as submitted, fee receipt, medical report and the Board’s written confirmation of the application date. See section 11 and the Board’s application guidance.
- Which respondent was named, and when? For a respondent added later, the period left out generally begins when that respondent was added. If the application named a shop operator and a separate maintenance company was added later, the two dates can differ. A Board reference on its own does not answer this question.
It is worth keeping the authorisation itself, its issue date and every notice adding or identifying a respondent. The guide to Injuries Resolution Board applications explains the wider application process.
What if the injured person is a child?
In an ordinary personal injury claim belonging to a child, the statutory provisions on disability generally allow two years from reaching adulthood at 18, where minority was the relevant disability. A parent or other suitable adult can act earlier on the child’s behalf as a next friend. Witness memories, CCTV and accident records may become difficult to obtain well before the child reaches adulthood. A parent who has a separate claim of their own should have their own deadline checked. Section 5 of the 1991 Act and Courts Service guidance on a next friend.
Does the same calculation cover medical negligence or a fatal accident?
A claim about medical treatment can turn on when the patient could reasonably have connected a significant injury with a particular act or omission. The ordinary two-year rule is the starting point. The revised legislation identifies a proposed three-year clinical negligence period as uncommenced. Clinical negligence falls outside the ordinary Board process. A complaint to the care provider or a medical records request does not itself preserve the patient’s time. Section 3 and its commencement notes and the Board’s statutory remit.
Where a person has died, a dependant’s fatal injury action and an action for the benefit of the estate can raise different questions. Legal disability and claims involving travel outside Ireland or a transport convention can also change the analysis. Obtain advice specific to the claim before relying on the ordinary rule. See the statutory provision on dependants’ claims.
What to bring when having a deadline checked
- The accident or treatment date and a brief account of when you first noticed the injury.
- The dates you learned of a possible connection and the records showing what you were told at the time.
- The names of those potentially responsible, plus any notice you sent to each person or organisation.
- The Board application, written confirmation of its date, later additions of respondents and any authorisation.
- Any court papers already issued, together with the dates and parties named.
For related topics, see the personal injury evidence guide and Legal Updates. This is general information for the Republic of Ireland. The last day for taking a step in an individual claim needs to be checked against its own facts and documents.
