What should I do if the statute of limitations has expired in a personal injury compensation case?

Before the implementation of the General Provisions of the Civil Law, the statute of limitations for personal injury compensation was one year, and the General Provisions of the Civil Law, which came into effect on October 1, 2017, changed the short-term one-year statute of limitations of the General Provisions of the Civil Law to three years. Therefore, the statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit for personal tort injuries that occurred after 1 October 2017 is three years. At the time of the implementation of the General Provisions of the Civil Law, the one-year statute of limitations still applies to personal torts that have already expired the one-year statute of limitations, and the three-year statute of limitations applies to those that have not yet expired.

It should be noted that not all infringement disputes are uniformly subject to the three-year statute of limitations stipulated in the General Provisions of the Civil Law, and if the statute of limitations stipulated in the special civil laws such as the Patent Law is inconsistent with the statute of limitations stipulated in the General Provisions of the Civil Law, the provisions of the special law shall still apply. Therefore, it is recommended that after the occurrence of an infringement dispute, if the negotiation fails, you should file an infringement lawsuit as soon as possible to protect your legitimate rights and interests. Legal basis:

Article 188 of the General Provisions of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China provides that the statute of limitations for filing a request to a people's court for protection of civil rights is three years. Where the law provides otherwise, follow those provisions. Article 1 of the "Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of the Statute of Limitations System" provides that where the statute of limitations begins to run after the implementation of the General Provisions of the Civil Law (after October 1, 2017), the provisions of Article 188 of the General Provisions of the Civil Law on the three-year limitation period shall apply.

Where a party claims to apply the provisions of the General Principles of the Civil Law on the two-year or one-year statute of limitations, the people's court will not support it.

Where the statute of limitations for civil litigation has expired, the court will generally no longer accept it. This situation can be resolved through negotiation between the parties. The General Principles of the Civil Law provide:

Article 135:The statute of limitations for requesting protection of civil rights from the people's courts is two years, except as otherwise provided by law. Article 136:The statute of limitations period for the following is one year: (1) Compensation is sought for bodily injury; (2) ** Unqualified goods are not declared; (3) Delaying or refusing to pay rent; (4) The deposited property is lost or damaged.

However, if more than 20 years have elapsed since the date on which the rights were infringed, the people's courts will not protect them.

Where there are special circumstances, the people's court may extend the statute of limitations, and finally, the statute of limitations period for compensation for personal injuries is calculated from the date of injury where the injury is obvious;

If the injury was not discovered at the time, but it is later confirmed by examination and can be proved to be caused by the injury, it is counted from the date on which the injury was diagnosed.

Legal basis: Article 188 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China provides that the statute of limitations for requesting protection of civil rights from a people's court is three years. Where the law provides otherwise, follow those provisions.

The limitation period is calculated from the date on which the right holder knows or should know that the right has been damaged and the obligor. Where the law provides otherwise, follow those provisions. However, if more than 20 years have elapsed since the date on which the rights were infringed, the people's courts will not grant protection, and where there are special circumstances, the people's courts may decide to extend the rights holder on the basis of the right holder's application.

Legal basis: Article 192 of the Civil Code stipulates that if the limitation period expires, the obligor may raise a defense of non-performance of the obligation.

After the expiration of the statute of limitations, if the obligor agrees to perform, the expiration of the statute of limitations period must not be used as a defense; Where the obligor has already voluntarily performed it, it must not be returned.

Legal basis: Article 188 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China provides that the statute of limitations for requesting protection of civil rights from the People's Court of the People's Republic of China is three years. Where the law provides otherwise, follow those provisions.

The limitation period is calculated from the date on which the right holder knows or should know that the right has been damaged and the obligor's suspicion is suspended. Where the law provides otherwise, follow those provisions. However, where more than 20 years have elapsed since the date on which the right has been harmed, the people's court will not grant protection, and where there are special circumstances, the people's court may decide to extend it on the basis of the right holder's application.