How long do I have to file a personal injury claim in Trinidad and Tobago?

The 4-year rule and the “date of knowledge”

Section 5 of the Limitation of Certain Actions Act (Chapter 7:09) applies to any claim for damages for negligence, nuisance or breach of duty that includes damages for personal injuries. “Personal injuries” includes any disease and any impairment of a person’s physical or mental condition (s 2(1)). The claim must be brought within 4 years from the date the cause of action accrued or the date the injured person first acquired knowledge of its accrual (s 5(2)).

A person first acquires knowledge when they first become aware of “any of the following facts”: that the injury was significant; that it was attributable, in whole or in part, to the act or omission said to be negligent; the identity of the defendant; or, where the act or omission was someone else’s, that person’s identity and the further facts supporting a claim against the defendant (s 7(1)). Knowledge includes what the person might reasonably be expected to find out, including with reasonable medical or other expert advice (s 7(3)). An injury is “significant” if the person would reasonably have considered it serious enough to justify suing a defendant who did not dispute liability and could pay a judgment (s 7(2)). Not knowing that the facts amount, in law, to negligence does not delay the start of the period (s 7(1)). Where the claim is based on the defendant’s fraud, or the defendant deliberately concealed a relevant fact, time runs only from when the claimant discovered it or could with reasonable diligence have done so (s 14(1)).

Whether a claim for an injury caused deliberately, such as an assault, falls under section 5 or under the general 4-year limit for claims in tort in section 3(1)(a) is not settled by the words of the Act. Under section 3(1)(a) time runs from the date of the assault, with no date-of-knowledge rule and no power to allow a late claim, so the safe course is to file within 4 years of the assault.

Children and people under a disability

If the injured person is under a disability when the claim accrues, the claim may be brought within 4 years from the date they cease to be under the disability or die, whichever happens first (s 11(1)). A person is under a disability while they are a child, are suffering from a mental disorder, or are mentally ill or receiving in-patient treatment in a mental hospital as defined in the Mental Health Act (s 2(3)). Because a person comes of age at 18, a person injured as a child generally has 4 years from their 18th birthday (ss 2(3), 11(1); Age of Majority Act (Chapter 46:06), ss 2, 6). This extension does not apply where the right of action first accrued to someone not under a disability through whom the injured person claims (s 11(3)).

Can I still sue after 4 years?

The court has a discretion to direct that the 4-year limit in section 5 or 6 does not apply, having regard to how far the limit prejudices the claimant and how far a direction would prejudice the defendant (s 9(1)). It must consider all the circumstances, including the length of and reasons for the delay, its effect on the evidence, the defendant’s conduct, how promptly the claimant acted once they knew they might have a claim, and the expert advice they sought (s 9(3)).

When the court cannot allow a late claim

The court’s power applies only to the limits in sections 5 and 6 (s 9(1)). It does not help in cases such as these:

• Workmen’s compensation. An adult worker who has received workmen’s compensation must sue the employer within 4 years from the date the cause of action accrued. Because another Act sets that period, the date-of-knowledge rule and the court’s power to allow a late claim do not apply (Workmen’s Compensation Act (Chapter 88:05), s 4(3); Limitation of Certain Actions Act, s 19). See injured at work.
• Claims against a motor insurer. A claim against an insurer under section 10 of the Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third-Party Risks) Act is an action to recover a sum recoverable by virtue of an enactment, so it must be brought within 4 years from when that cause of action accrued, and the court cannot extend that period (Limitation of Certain Actions Act, s 3(1)(c); Maharaj v Motor One Insurance Co Ltd [2018] UKPC 8 [17]). Time does not run from the accident: the right to claim against the insurer arises only after judgment has been obtained against the insured person (Ram v Motor and General Insurance Co Ltd [2015] UKPC 22 [17]). The Privy Council has not decided whether it then runs from the judgment on liability or from the assessment of damages (Maharaj [6]). The period may be postponed in limited cases such as deliberate concealment (s 14). See road accident claims.
• When the person responsible has died. Unless proceedings were already pending when they died, a claim in tort against their estate can be brought only if the cause of action arose not earlier than 6 months before their death and proceedings are taken not later than 6 months after their personal representative took out representation (Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Chapter 4:01), s 27(3)). Where the liability was covered by motor insurance, the injured person’s rights are preserved against the insured person’s personal representatives as if the insured had survived (Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third-Party Risks) Act, s 16).

The COVID-19 period

The period from 27 March 2020 to 2 May 2022 is not counted when calculating any limitation period under the Act running at that time (s 23, in force from 11 May 2020; Legal Notice 292/2021). It applies only to periods set by this Act. It does not extend periods set by other Acts, such as the 4-year period for a worker who has received workmen’s compensation (Workmen’s Compensation Act, s 4(3)).

The State, and claims after a death

The Act applies to claims against the State as it does to claims between private persons (s 18(1)). Where another enactment prescribes its own limitation period for a particular claim, this Act does not apply to it, except for the rule in section 6(1) about claims after a death (s 19).

If the injured person dies before the 4 years run out, their estate has 4 years from the date of death, or from the personal representative’s date of knowledge, whichever is later (s 5(3)). A family claim under the Compensation for Injuries Act (Chapter 8:05) has its own 4-year period, from the death or, if later, the beneficiary’s date of knowledge (s 6(3)). But it cannot be brought if, when the person died, their own claim could no longer be brought, for any reason (s 6(1)), unless that was because of the limit in section 5 and the court disapplies this rule (s 9(2)). See family claims after a death.