What Is The Statute Of Limitations?

Mind is All

When you visit the hospital for a procedure, you certainly do not want anything to go wrong. But even if you do not want to think about this possibility, there are times when things go wrong. When this happens, one of the things that comes to mind is the possibility of suing for negligence or for malpractice. If you are ever in such a position, and you are considering suit, it is important to understand the statute of limitations. Essentially, the statute of limitations sets a limit on how long someone has before they are no longer allowed to file suit for malpractice. The statute of limitations varies from state to state, so make sure you familiarize yourself with the specifics that relate to your state if you are thinking of filing suit.

The limit on how long a person is allowed to wait before filing a malpractice suit is the basic foundation of the statute of limitations. This allotted time varies from a couple years to several years, and there can be extenuating circumstances that stretch this time even longer. But in those instances where negative ramifications of a surger or operation are recognized immediately, the basic statute of limitations applies. The statute of limitations begins immediately in these cases, and generally the person will have between two and four years to file suit.

Delayed identification of negative effects is one of the major extenuating circumstances that can extend the statute of limitations. Perhaps an ommission or an instance of negligence occurred during surgery - or perhaps a downright mistake was made - but there is no evidence of this for a couple of years. This is why states allow for the statute of limitations to begin late - in this instance, it begins when the negative effects are discovered.

Finally, all states also impose an absolute cap on how long people have to file suit, even if the problem is discovered late. For instance, the cap in Massachusetts is seven years, so even if someone discovers a problem that was directly related to a surgery that took place eight years earlier, they can no longer file suit, no matter how blatant the ommission or act of negligence might have been. This time is far shorter in the state of Florida, with the absolute cap being set at four years.

If you happen to find yourself in the unenviable position of needing to file a malpractice suit, familiarize yourself with the statute of limitations in your state so that you can act accordingly.