traffic compensation
Hit and Run compensation UK
<p>This is going to be difficult to write, so I apologise if it's confusing at times.</p>

<p>About 6 years ago my wife was hit by a car when crossing the street (walking). The car wasn't going too fast (est. 40mph) but essentially turned the corner without indicating and was not looking at the road. After shouting at my wife (who was alone at the time) the man got back in his car and drove away. My wife called a friend from work (she was only 2 minutes outside) and they helped her to the A&amp;E (probably another 2 minutes away luckily). My wife was seen by the doctors, notes were made, tests were done but she was released later that day. We called the police to report it and were told a police officer would come to our house to take a statement, but we were later called back and told we would have to come to a station and give a statement (at the time I mentioned it might be a while since my wife was in need of recovery). When we eventually got to the station to give our statement we were told we were too late, (it was about 10 weeks after). Before going to the station I had believed the 'case' had been opened but they were just waiting for my wife's statement to continue with it; the officer at the station told us that there was nothing they could do since any cameras near the scene of the hit and run wouldn't have their footage any more.</p>

<p>This was a let down, but the primary concern at the time was my wife's health - aside from being wheelchair bound by the incident she was also experiencing unexplained losses of consciousness. The long and short of this is a diagnostic process thay took years to identify a neurological condition that causes her to have 'episodes' of paralysis or loss of consciousness, among other conditions caused by the incident. Needless to say both my wife and I haven't been able to work since the incident - although I am officially her career and we recieve state benefits (PIP, carers allowance).</p>

<p>A little over a year ago one of my wife's doctors said there was a government scheme that handles things like hit and run compensation even if the driver was not caught, but unfortunately this has a 2 year timescale on it and we're outside of that.</p>

<p>It has just occured to me that I never found out when the 2 year counter starts from - is it the date of the accident? The date of the diagnosis? Is there any legal recourse that we could reasonably take this long after the incident to try and get our lives back on track?</p>

<p>You might be referring to the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/criminal-injuries-compensation-a-guide#time-limits-for-applying" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme</a>, which says the following about applications:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Time limits for applying</strong></p>
<p>You must apply as soon as it is reasonably practicable for you to do so. If you were an adult at the time of the incident, this should normally not be later than two years after it occurred. We can only extend this time limit where:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>due to exceptional circumstances an application could not have been made earlier; and</p>
</li>
<li><p>the evidence provided in support of the application means that it can be determined without further extensive enquiries by a claims officer.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Our decision will be based on the ‘balance of probabilities’. This is different from a criminal court which decides on the basis of ‘beyond reasonable doubt’. We do not need to wait for the outcome of a criminal trial if there is already enough information to make a decision on your case, so you should never make that a reason for delaying your application.</p>
<p>If you wish us to consider your application more than two years from the date of the incident you will need to provide us with evidence that shows why this application could not have been made earlier. You must also be able to provide supporting evidence for your claim that means that the claims officer can make a decision without further extensive enquiries.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So the time limits are from the incident itself.</p>
