Life
Saunders
Law
Group
lets talk “medical malpractice”
At Saunders Law Group, Tom Saunders
concentrates a significant portion of his
practice to Medical Negligence cases.
These cases are usually quite complex and the
law itself is filled with very specific requirements
before a suit can even be contemplated.
Generally, a medical negligence claim must be
brought within two (2) years of the date you
“knew or should have known” of both the event
giving rise to the injury and the fact that the
injury was caused by negligence.
Determining the date your statute of limitations
begins is not always easy. For example, the statute
of limitations probably begins the day the surgeon
accidently cut off the wrong leg as you know both
that an injury occurred (a healthy leg was removed)
and that likely this would not have happened if
the doctor was paying attention (negligence).
When a statute of limitations begins when you
are being treated over a long period of time for
a chronic illness is more complicated. If a physician
prescribes a wrong medicine but you do not
notice the bad effects of that wrong medicine for
a year, does the statute of limitations begin when
you are sure that you are having a bad reaction to
the medicine? What if you had some symptoms
of an adverse reaction to the wrong medication
several months after first being prescribed but
thought that the “reaction” was merely a cold or
some other easily explained symptom?
For these reasons, it is always best to see an experienced
medical malpractice lawyer at the earliest
time. Better “early” than potentially “never” due
to waiting too long.
You can also extend the two (2) year statute of
limitations automatically for ninety (90) additional
days by filing in the county where the malpractice
happened a form and paying a small fee.
This request for automatic extension must itself
be filed within the original statute of limitations.
Absent some form of fraud, however, no medical
negligence claim can usually be filed more than
4 years after the event giving rise to the claim.
All the more reason to seek a review of your
case quickly and with someone experienced in
such claims.
Even with fraud involved, a “final” statute of limitations
is 7 years. At year 7 and one day, even medical
negligence claims based on fraud are not allowed.
The outline above is not intended as legal advice
for any particular individual. It is general in
nature only and you should seek the advice of an
experienced attorney to make recommendations
in your particular circumstances.
Meet the Lawyer
A lawyer for more than 34 years, Tom Saunders holds two board certifications
from The Florida Bar: one for civil trial, and one for business litigation. Call
us today if we can help you with any matter. We will be happy to refer you to
another law firm if your particular need is outside of our practice area.
24 WomanToWomanMagazine.com
/WomanToWomanMagazine.com
