Christy Bieber has a JD from UCLA School of Law and began her career as a college instructor and textbook author. She has been writing full time for over a decade with a focus on making financial and legal topics understandable and fun. Her work has.
Christy Bieber, J.D. ContributorChristy Bieber has a JD from UCLA School of Law and began her career as a college instructor and textbook author. She has been writing full time for over a decade with a focus on making financial and legal topics understandable and fun. Her work has.
Written By Christy Bieber, J.D. ContributorChristy Bieber has a JD from UCLA School of Law and began her career as a college instructor and textbook author. She has been writing full time for over a decade with a focus on making financial and legal topics understandable and fun. Her work has.
Christy Bieber, J.D. ContributorChristy Bieber has a JD from UCLA School of Law and began her career as a college instructor and textbook author. She has been writing full time for over a decade with a focus on making financial and legal topics understandable and fun. Her work has.
ContributorAdam has resided at the intersection of legal and journalism for two decades. An award-winning journalist and legal strategist, he’s covered high-profile trials in Florida. After law school, Adam and spent two years clerking for a U.S. District Co.
Adam has resided at the intersection of legal and journalism for two decades. An award-winning journalist and legal strategist, he’s covered high-profile trials in Florida. After law school, Adam and spent two years clerking for a U.S. District Co.
Adam has resided at the intersection of legal and journalism for two decades. An award-winning journalist and legal strategist, he’s covered high-profile trials in Florida. After law school, Adam and spent two years clerking for a U.S. District Co.
Adam has resided at the intersection of legal and journalism for two decades. An award-winning journalist and legal strategist, he’s covered high-profile trials in Florida. After law school, Adam and spent two years clerking for a U.S. District Co.
Updated: Nov 18, 2022, 5:58am
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Medical malpractice lawsuits allow victims of medical negligence to recover compensation from their healthcare providers and the hospitals or healthcare facilities that employ those providers. But you cannot pursue a claim after the medical malpractice statute of limitations runs out.
This guide explains what the statute of limitations is and provides details on the medical malpractice statute of limitations by state.
Medical malpractice occurs when:
If you are a victim of medical malpractice and hope to obtain compensation for the damages you endured, you must pursue a lawsuit against the care provider before the medical malpractice statute of limitations runs out.
With most injury claims, you must file a lawsuit within a limited period of time. This is true for claims arising from medical negligence. States set laws on how long you have to pursue your case. This is important because evidence can be lost and memories fade over time.
If you do not pursue your case within the medical malpractice statute of limitations, your claim will be time barred. You will not be allowed to pursue a claim and get compensation for the harm you experienced as a result of your caregiver’s negligence.
State laws differ on when the medical malpractice statute of limitations runs out. Here are the medical malpractice statute of limitations by state.
Code of Alabama section 6-5-482 Alaska Statutes section 09.10.070 Arizona Revised Statutes section 12-542 Arkansas Code section 16-114-203 California 1 year after discovery / 3 years after the occurrence of the injury California Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5 Colorado Revised Statutes section 13-80-102.5 Connecticut Gen. Stat. of Connecticut section 52-584 Title 18 Delaware Code section 6856 District of Columbia D.C. Code section 12-301 Florida Statutes section 95.11(4)(b) Code of Georgia section 9-3-71 Hawaii Revised Statutes section 657-7.3 Idaho Statutes section 5-219 Illinois Comp. Statutes section 5/13-212(a) Indiana Code section 34-18-7-1 Iowa Code section 614.1 Kansas Statutes section 60-513 Kentucky Revised Statutes section 413.140 Louisiana Revised Statutes section 9:5628 Maine Revised Statutes Title 24 section 2902 3 years after discovery / 5 years after the occurrence of the injury Maryland Cts & Jud. Proc. Code section 5-109 Massachusetts Massachusetts General Laws Ch. 260 section 4 Michigan Comp. Laws section 600.5805 Minnesota Statutes section 541.076 Mississippi Mississippi Code section 15-1-36(1) Missouri Revised Statutes section 516.105 Montana Code section 27-2-205 Nebraska Revised Statutes section 44-2828 Nevada Revised Statutes section 41A.097 New Hampshire New Hampshire Revised Statutes section 507:C-4 New Jersey New Jersey Statutes section 2A:14-2 New Mexico New Mexico Statutes section 41-5-13 2 1/2 years N.Y. Civil Practice Law and Rules section 214-a. North Carolina North Carolina General Statutes section 1-15 North Dakota North Dakota Century Code section 28-01-18 Ohio Revised Code section 2305.113 Oklahoma Statutes section 76-18 Oregon Revised Statutes section 12.110 Pennsylvania Penn. Cons. Statutes Title 42 section 5524 Rhode Island Rhode Island Statutes section 9-1-14.1 South Carolina South Carolina Code section 15-3-545 South Dakota South Dakota Codified Laws section 15-2-14.1 1 year after discovery or 3 years after the occurrence of the injury Tennessee Code section 29-26-116 Texas Civil Practice and Rem. Code section 74.251 Utah Code section 78B-3-404 12 Vermont Statutes section 521 Code of Virginia section 8.01-243 Washington Rev. Code of Washington section 4.16.350 West Virginia West Virginia Code section 55-7B-4 Wisconsin Statutes section 893.55 Wyoming Statutes section 1-3-107 See More See LessIn most injury claims, the timeline for the statute of limitations begins running when the malpractice occurs and causes injury.
For example, if a doctor botches an operation, you would have three years from the time this happened to pursue a medical malpractice case if you lived in Wisconsin or two years in Wyoming.
In some cases, medical malpractice victims are not even aware they have been the victim of medical negligence until some time passes. Because of this, some patients were being barred from suing because the medical malpractice statute of limitations had run out before they were even aware a doctor had harmed them.
To resolve this problem, the discovery rule exists in many states. Under this rule, the statute of limitations may begin running when you either discovered you had been injured by medical negligence or reasonably should have found this out.
Depending on where you live, there may be a cap on the total length of time that you have, though, regardless of when the injury is identified. You should talk with an experienced medical malpractice lawyer to find out what the rules are where you live so you do not miss the opportunity to make a claim for compensation.
If you have been harmed by medical negligence, you don’t want to wait to pursue a case until the medical malpractice statute of limitations is close to running out. It’s best to take swift action.
Pursuing a claim ASAP ensures that the maximum amount of evidence is still available and that you can find witnesses who remember the incident clearly. The longer you wait, the harder it may become to prove your case.
As soon as you determine you have been harmed by a care provider, you should reach out to a medical malpractice lawyer ASAP for help.
The length of time you have to sue for medical malpractice depends on the medical malpractice statute of limitations where you live. In most states, you have between two and five years from the time the malpractice occurs or from the time you discover the injury to pursue a lawsuit to recover compensation for medical negligence.
The statute of limitations for medical malpractice lawsuits limits the amount of time that you have to make a claim against a healthcare provider for medical negligence. It exists to ensure that people act swiftly to make claims while ample evidence is still available. Depending where you live, the time limit to pursue a case is generally between two years and five years.
In most negligence cases, a reasonable person standard is used. This means the defendant’s actions are judged against what a reasonable person would have done under the same circumstances. In a medical malpractice case, a professional standard of care is used. The healthcare provider’s actions (or inaction) is judged against what a similarly-trained physician would have done under the same circumstances.
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ContributorChristy Bieber has a JD from UCLA School of Law and began her career as a college instructor and textbook author. She has been writing full time for over a decade with a focus on making financial and legal topics understandable and fun. Her work has appeared on Forbes, CNN Underscored Money, Investopedia, Credit Karma, The Balance, USA Today, and Yahoo Finance, among others.
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