Dental Negligence Limitation Decision Tree
Use this decision tree to identify the dates that need urgent legal checking; it is not a substitute for calculating limitation on the complete facts.
Which limitation branch applies?
Work down the table in order. “Started” normally means court proceedings are issued, not that a complaint was made or a solicitor contacted. Do not wait for records, a complaint response or corrective treatment if a possible deadline is close.
Dental negligence limitation decision tree
| Decision point | If yes | If no | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Was the injured person under 18 when treatment occurred? | The ordinary three-year personal-injury period generally does not begin until the 18th birthday. | Move to capacity. | Record the date of birth and seek advice well before age 21. |
| Did the person lack capacity to conduct litigation? | Time may be suspended while that disability continues. | Move to knowledge. | Capacity is decision- and time-specific; obtain individual advice. |
| Was injury and its possible link to treatment known immediately? | Use the treatment/injury date as the cautious working date. | Identify the later date of knowledge. | Do not assume knowledge waits for an expert report or admission. |
| Was the significant injury or its attribution discovered later? | The three-year period may run from the statutory date of knowledge. | Use the earliest defensible accrual date. | Build a dated chronology of symptoms, explanations and later diagnosis. |
| Has three years arguably expired? | A court has a discretion under section 33, but it is uncertain. | Protect the date through urgent legal assessment. | Never plan a claim on the assumption that discretion will be exercised. |
Conclusion: Use the earliest plausible date unless a solicitor confirms that a later statutory starting point or exception applies.
Source note: Limitation Act 1980, section 11; Section 14: date of knowledge; Section 28: disability; Section 33: court discretion.
Record four dates, not one
Write down the treatment date, first unusual symptom, first explanation linking it to care, and the date a later clinician identified injury. Also keep complaint dates and record requests, but do not treat them as stopping the legal clock. A series of treatments can create more than one alleged breach and more than one possible deadline.
What this decision tree cannot decide
Accrual, knowledge, capacity, continuing treatment, concealment and cross-border treatment can require detailed legal analysis. The table covers the main personal-injury route in England and Wales and should not be applied mechanically to contractual refunds, regulatory complaints or another UK jurisdiction. If any plausible date is within six months, urgent advice is proportionate.
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