Catastrophic claims

Catastrophic injury claims—preliminary considerations

In catastrophic cases, as in all claims, the claimant practitioner must assess the prospects of success on liability and must make clear to the client and family that fault on the part of another individual or organisation is crucial. In so far as is possible the claimant’s instructions on the accident circumstances must be obtained in the usual way and the claimant must be advised on the liability issue.

It is important to bear limitation in mind because it is not unusual in cases of severe injury for the claimant and family to have been so focused on the injuries, treatment and rehabilitation that there will have been a delay in instructing solicitors. It is not uncommon for a catastrophically injured claimant to lack capacity, whether temporarily or permanently. Where a person lacks capacity from the date when their cause of action accrued, sections 28(1) and 28(6) of the Limitation Act 1980 (LA 1980) provides that the three-year period will start to run, if at all, only when they acquire capacity.

As in all cases the practitioner should consider what funding may be available