Need to file disability discrimination court claim in court by specific date but too unwell to do it

Is your disability discrimination claim against a service provider - which is the county court's jurisdiction, or your employer- which is the employment tribunal's jurisdictuion ?

You must complete and file the claim form (form N1) with the court, in triplicate (assuming there is one defendant) within the limitation period (i.e. 6 months less one day from the date of the incident). I assume it is that date which is looming?

Within that form you must insert brief details of the claim - you don't have to at that stage go into chapter and verse - you can just set out a brief overview of the claim and the sections of the Equality Act 2010 you are bringing the claim under.

Tick the box "particulars of claim to follow" (they must be served on the defendant and filed at court within 14 days of service of the claim form).

State within the covering letter to the court that you wish to effect service of the claim form on the defendant and therefore ask it to send 2 sealed copies of the claim form, one for your records and the other one so you can effect service.

You will then receive back from the court the sealed claim form.

You must then serve the claim form within 4 months of the date it was issued by the court (the date of issue will be inserted by the court office). When you serve the claim form on the defendant you must file a certificate of service with the court.

So, you actually have circa 4.5 months from the issue date of the claim form to prepare and serve the claim form/particulars of claim on the defendant.

If you cannot meet those timescales then you would have to apply to the court for an extension of time to serve the claim form and/or the particulars of claim with valid reasons, supported by any medical evidence if those reasons are related to your symptoms.

Do not miss the strict limitation period for issuing the claim form (6 months less one day from the date of the incident). You do not have to "engage with the evidence" to complete form N1 and send it to the court within the limitation period, so if you do miss it then you will not be able to bring a claim.

Having said all of that, if you have some savings it is well worth paying for initial legal advice from a specialist solicitor, for two very good reasons:-

1. A specialist solicitor will be able to tell you whether your claim has any merit and the value of it;
2. Subject to 1. the solicitor may offer you a "no win no fee" arrangement;
3. Even if the solicitor doesn't offer you a no win no fee, he/she may offer you a capped price to draft the particulars of claim.

These sorts of claims are extremely difficult even if you think you have a great case. I was a discrimination solicitor, and I also litigated a few disability discrimination claims in person after leaving the profession against certain service providers. My claims settled because I has the skill set to draft/prepare and run those cases myself but they still took a huge toll on me and worsened my symptoms.

A solicitor is therefore the best option to give you objective advice, you cannot possibly be objective or emotionally detached as a litigant in person.

1. Provided the claim form is issued within the 6 month limitation period then you can serve it within 4 months of the date of issue and then serve the particulars of claim within 14 days of service of the claim form.
2. A letter before claim should be sent before proceedings are issued, really this should have been done asap after the incident. However, yes you should send it asap because you should give them 3 months to respond in accordance with the pre-action protocol.
3. You should consult a solicitor for advice on whether your situation could form the basis of a successful application to extend limitation on just and equitable grounds.
4. Your claim wouldn't be under the small claims procedure due to likely value and/or complexity. However, if you think your claim isn't of great value/or a solicitor doesn't think it is of any great value then you would have to consider whether the stress of pursuing it is worth it.
5. With respect, advice from the EASS isn't on a par with advice from a qualified solicitor who specialises in discrimination actions.

Discrimination claims are very complex, very time consuming and fact sensitive. And, regardless of what you think about your case, trust me the defendant will defend it vigorously and will utilise their own legal team to do so. It will be extraordinarily difficult for you to do this on your own and it will cause you high levels of stress on a daily basis.

I would still strongly recommend you arrange to see a solicitor for a proper consultation to discuss all of your issues and any other questions you have.