A hunter who in April 2004 suffered an eye injury when he was hit by lead pellets fired from the gun of a fellow hunter was denied compensation for damages today after a court found that his application was time-barred.

Carmelo Vella, 55, had instituted civil proceedings against Stanley Cardona who was responsible for the incident which resulted in Mr Vella suffering serious injuries to his left eye, head and chest. 

The accident occurred when the two men were hunting from adjacent fields in Ħandaq.

The court was told that doctors who had treated Mr Vella had opted against removing the lead from his body as they deemed the medical intervention to pose a greater risk to him. However he had since lived in constant fear of lead poisoning.

Mr Cardona argued that Mr Vella's application for compensation was time-barred and that consequently he owed him no compensation money. 

The court observed that the application was filed on March 7, 2014 well after the prescription period laid down by law. The case was therefore dismissed.