Call for limitation to be lifted for child abuse victims

A leading Scottish personal injury lawyer has called for the limitation period to be lifted for child abuse victims.

Under Scots law, victims must make claims for compensation within three years of the abuse taking place or by their 19th birthday, according to Gordon Dalyell, representative of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) in Scotland. Apil was responding to a Scottish government consultation to remove the limitation period for child abuse cases, which closes on 18 September.

Dalyell says: “It can take a long time for someone to recognise how the course of his or her life has been affected by the abuse endured as a child. To lift the limitation period would introduce clarity and certainty for victims and the courts. It is also likely that more cases will settle out of court as the complication of limitation issues will no longer have to be dealt with.”