What is the time limit to sue after an assault or violence?
Short answer
In Quebec, an action for compensation for bodily injury resulting from an act that could constitute a criminal offence is prescribed by 10 years from the day the victim becomes aware that the injury is attributable to that act, and it is not subject to any limitation period where the injury results from violence suffered during childhood, sexual violence or spousal violence (art. 2926.1 of the Civil Code of Quebec).
In detail
Article 2926.1 creates a regime distinct from the general three-year rule. The starting point is not the date of the acts, but the day the victim becomes aware that their injury is attributable to that act — which, in practice, may happen years later.
The second sentence of the article goes further still: the action is not subject to any limitation period in three cases — violence suffered during childhood, sexual violence and spousal violence. No time limit can then be raised against the victim.
Article 2905 also provides that prescription does not run against a minor with respect to remedies they may have against anyone for compensation for bodily injury resulting from an act that could constitute a criminal offence. The civil remedy is independent of a criminal complaint: the two can exist separately.
What to document
A timeline of events with dates as precise as possible, contemporaneous documents (messages, emails, reports, medical notes), the names of the people who witnessed events or whom you told about them, and the date you made the connection between your difficulties and the facts.
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Official sources
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.