Statute of Limitations – Medical Malpractice Exceptions

• October 3 2016
• |   Medical Malpractice

Q: Are there certain, long-term exceptions to the Statute of Limitations, in Medical Malpractice cases? Is it from the date of discovery? For example, if someone finds a sponge after a surgery inside them, but it takes a biopsy a long time later?

There are a lot of statute of limitations that start running from the date of discovery of the malpractice, or from the date you knew, or should have known. That’s what normally starts the toll period – knowing or knowledge, or that a party should have known for discovery, which isn’t always as clear as the courts would like it to be. One example is in the case of a sponge found inside a patient after surgery. The statute of limitations in this case may start when the sponge was found in an x-ray or biopsy, possibly many years after the surgery.

Regardless of what you think your statute of limitations is, the sooner you meet with an attorney about your case the better. In addition to filing your case in a timely manner, it takes a while to draft a complaint and get everything organized.

If it’s been a long time since your accident you should still speak with an attorney to see if there are any circumstances that would give you a longer time to file your case. If you have an injury that was caused by someone else, don’t just assume that the statute of limitations has expired. Talk to a lawyer and find out for sure.