Medical Malpractice Statute of Limitations

Medical Malpractice Statute of Limitations

In medical malpractice law, the statute of limitation refers to the period of time when an injury occurs to the final date on which the suit is filed.

A person affected by a medical malpractice should file a case as soon as he discovers the injury. However there is a time limit given for the plaintiff to file the case against the physician or doctor who was responsible for such mistakes. The statute or the rule is not the same in every state. The time may differ from state to state and the rules are different for malpractice claims and other claims. In death, the date, of course cannot be changed. California recently changed the rule for most personal injury claims, including auto accidents, from one year to two years. The relative should file the case immediately after death. In case the person is alive and brings the case to the court, the date of the negligent may not be known. In those cases the plaintiff is allowed to file a case as soon as he is aware of the negligent act.

There are exceptions in the general rule of medical malpractice claims:

• If a child of age under 3 is affected, then it can claim for the negligence act till the age of 8.
• In case where the hospital is situated in a county or at a local administrative agency then the claim should be filed before 6 months of the negligence act, birth or death of a person.
• However there is a limited exception and a child can make a request for a period up to 1 year since the incident.

The court by all means can dismiss the case if it is not filed within 6 months of the negligence act. So it is up to the defendant to alert the the court of a statute of limitations violation.