In Maryland, the statute of limitations for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit, including cases involving surgical errors, can vary depending on the circumstances of the case. Whether you or a loved one has suffered after a surgical error, you should find out what to do from a medical malpractice attorney in Baltimore, MD.
Ask a Medical Malpractice Attorney in Baltimore, MD: How Long Do I Have To File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit After Discovering a Surgical Error?
When you are being treated by a doctor or surgeon, you have the right to expect a certain standard of care: that is, the care that any competent healthcare professional with the same training would have offered in a similar situation.
If the healthcare professional deviates from these standards of care and causes injury through their action or inaction, then you may have a case for medical malpractice. Click here to find out more about how malpractice is defined and what forms it may take.
Discovery Rule
Maryland follows the discovery rule for medical malpractice cases. This means that the statute of limitations begins to run when the plaintiff discovers, or reasonably should have discovered the injury or the facts giving rise to the claim. For surgical errors, this would typically be when you become aware of the error or its consequences. The statute of limitations is three years after this time.
If a surgery goes wrong and the surgeon is aware of it, then they should inform you after the surgery and the three years would start from the point at which you were informed of the injury. However, if you only come to know about the error later, the three years would begin from the point at which you discovered it.
Statute of Repose
Maryland also has a statute of repose for medical malpractice cases. This sets an absolute deadline by which a lawsuit must be filed, regardless of when the injury was discovered. In Maryland, the statute of repose for medical malpractice cases is generally five years from the date the alleged malpractice occurred, with some exceptions.
The statute of repose overrides the discovery rule, meaning that if you become aware of a surgical error four years after your surgery, you have only one year left to file a suit rather than three.
Minority Tolling
If the victim of the medical malpractice was a minor at the time the malpractice occurred, the statute of limitations may be paused, or tolled, until the minor is older. For minors in Maryland, this means that the statute of limitations may be tolled until the child is 11 years old if the injury occurred before their 11th birthday.
However, if the surgical error relates to a foreign object left in the body, or any damage is done to the child’s reproductive system, then the statute of limitations is tolled until the child turns 16. For example, if your child suffered damage to their reproductive system during surgery when they were 11 and this went unnoticed until they were 17, they would still be able to file a case. The statute of limitations would have begun to run when they turned 16, rather than having expired five years after the surgery took place.
You should take prompt action if you believe you have a medical malpractice claim involving a surgical error. If you delay filing a lawsuit, you could limit your ability to seek compensation for your injuries, or even be disqualified from, it completely. The best move is to consult with a qualified medical malpractice attorney to ensure you meet all conditions and applicable deadli
nes for filing a lawsuit.