Injured at work and rules on 3 year time bar

[essex1]

Hello

I wonder if someone can advise on the following. I work for a Government dept and in 2010 I severely injured my neck during a restrain of a suspect> cutting a long story short, it was clear no risk assessment was in place for the duty I was told to perform. I was unaware of the seriousness of my injury for some months but of course I had good grounds to seek compensation.
Through attending the departments OH consultants my then department agreed to reimburse all my lost pay which gave me added protection for future absences from work due to my now disability.

However in 2014 I was forced to transfer into a different Government department and accept changes to my work that was a detriment to my disability. Once again cutting a long story short, my new role increased symptoms of my disabilities to my spine and I made a subsequent request for Ill Health Retirement, on the understanding my injury benefit award would uplift my pension. However during the IHR process (which was successful) my injury benefit award was reconsidered and rejected using the judgement Ring v HNSBSA as a rule. Obviously had they reached the same conclusion in 2010 during my first successful assessment I would have sought compensation through the courts for my injury.

I am aware there are strict time barred rules of 3 years related to claims. However I feel this is unjust given the circumstances, so my question is. Can I possibly shoehorn a compensation claim using my present outcome?. For example since I have been sick awaiting the outcome of my IHR my pay has been reduced to nil. Could I run a case for withholding salary which should have been paid after the intial agreement? ...Or, as I considered the first injury benefit award as contractual one (and as a result did not pursue compensation) could I run a case of breach of contract. Or am I missing something altogether and there be another route to have my day in court?

Many thanks in advance.

[Peridot]

Hi Essex1,

I'm sorry to hear about your injury. Did you obtain legal advice at the time of the original injury in 2010, maybe through a Union if you belong to one?
Even by the time of the transfer to a different department you were time barred from bringing a personal injury claim. There is a discretion that can be applied by the Courts in certain circumstances that would allow a personal injury claim to be brought after limitation has passed but the relevant section 33 (3) of the Limitation Act 1980 would apply. The Courts are reluctant to extend limitation periods (3 years from the date of injury in this sort of personal injury claim) unless there is significant reason to do so. This is the relevant section of the Act: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/58/section/33

Have you had any legal advice or union at any point since the accident, concerning what options you had with regard to the injury and or with regard to the IHR process and any injury benefit award you could potentially receive? With the IHR process did you have advice and does the scheme set out payment terms of any injury benefit award, in the event IHR is claimed? I would suggest contacting your union if you are a member or obtaining some employment advice. it is of course open to you to obtain some advice concerning the personal injury claim aspect but I suspect it would be a longshot. If you do want to discuss the personal injury aspect further I would suggest contacting a personal injury specialist lawyer (maybe not via a claims management company) although I suspect there would be more hope negotiating aspects of the IHR if this is not yet finalised and open to negotiation?

Sorry I can't be more positive here but with the significant delay since the actual injury and the further acceptance of the transferred department for some 4 years until you entered the IHR process, if you are able to, I think if you are able maybe your union/employment specialist would be a better arena to explore.