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Section 18: Actions where death has resulted from personal injuries.

Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 · 1973 c. 52View on legislation.gov.uk

Part II: Limitation of Actions

This section applies to any action in which, following the death of any person from personal injuries, damages are claimed in respect of the injuries or the death.

This section does not apply to an action of damages in respect of personal injuries or death to which section 18ZA applies.

Subject to subsections (3) and (4) below and section 19A of this Act, no action to which this section applies shall be brought unless it is commenced within a period of 3 years after—

the date of death of the deceased; or
the date (if later than the date of death) on which the pursuer in the action became, or on which, in the opinion of the court, it would have been reasonably practicable for him in all the circumstances to become, aware of both of the following facts—
that the injuries of the deceased were attributable in whole or in part to an act or omission; and
that the defender was a person to whose act or omission the injuries were attributable in whole or in part or the employer or principal of such a person.

Where the pursuer is a relative of the deceased, there shall be disregarded in the computation of the period specified in subsection (2) above any time during which the relative was under legal disability by reason of nonage or unsoundness of mind.

Subject to section 19A of this Act, where an action of damages has not been brought by or on behalf of a person who has sustained personal injuries within the period specified in section 17(2) of this Act and that person subsequently dies in consequence of those injuries, no action to which this section applies shall be brought in respect of those injuries or the death from those injuries.

In this section "relative" has the same meaning as in the Damages (Scotland) Act 2011.

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This legislation text comes from legislation.gov.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. These source and reuse terms cover the legislation text, not Remedy's commentary.

Reuse reviewed 21 August 2026 under Open Government Licence v3.0.