A claim for aggravated damages for emotional upset, anxiety, distress and humiliation arising from assault or other trespass to the person is a claim 'for damages for personal injury' within s 18A(1) of the Limitation Act 1969 (NSW), attracting the three-year limitation period. A plaintiff cannot avoid the three-year limitation period by abandoning a claim for compensatory damages for physical injuries and reframing the claim as one for aggravated damages for injured feelings. Where a single cause of action in assault claims both aggravated and exemplary damages, the inclusion of exemplary damages does not take the cause of action outside s 18A. A party seeking to add a new cause of action under s 65(2)(c) of the Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) must adequately plead the essential elements of the new cause of action to enable the court to assess whether it arises from substantially the same facts as the existing cause of action.
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