As the tide goes out on the
Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999 ('MACA'), the
Supreme Court has at last clarified a contentious issue in
Section 73 of the MACA, which relates to the late making of
claims.
As many readers may already be aware, a
motor accident claim can be made more than 6 months after the
accident, although only if the Claimant provides a 'full and
satisfactory' explanation for the delay in making the claim. A
'full and satisfactory' explanation is defined in
Section 66 of the MACA as:
"...a full account of the
conduct, including the actions, knowledge and belief of the
claimant, from the date of the accident until the date of providing
the explanation. The explanation is not a satisfactory explanation
unless a reasonable person in the position of the claimant would
have failed to have complied with the duty or would have been
justified in experiencing the same delay."
