If you have been injured as a result of a mistake by a healthcare provider, you may be eligible to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. However, you only have a certain period of time to do so. If you do not file your suit within the statute of limitations for medical malpractice in Maryland, you will be unable to collect the damages that may help you cover your loss of income, pain and suffering, or healthcare bills. How long do you have to start your legal proceedings?
Understanding a Statute of Limitations
A statute of limitations is how much time someone has to start legal proceedings for a civil case. Once the statute of limitations is over, your options for getting damages or other types of recovery may be seriously limited or non-existent. The statute of limitations varies from state to state, so it’s important to understand specific requirements for your area.
How Much Time Do You Have to Seek Damages for Medical Malpractice in Maryland?
Medical malpractice in Maryland is slightly more complex than other statutes of limitations, as the length of time that you have varies based on a few factors. As a rule of thumb, you must start legal proceedings before the lesser of three years from the date of discovery or five years from the date of your injury. If the person involved is under the age of 18, the statute of limitations will not begin until they turn 18.
What Counts as Medical Malpractice?
Medical practice in Maryland is a broad category that includes a variety of types of breaches of the standards of care that doctors are expected to obey. Unfortunately, these cases are very common throughout the United States. Some of the things that can fall under medical malpractice cases include:
- Delayed diagnosis
- Prescription mistakes
- Delivery errors
- Emergency room mistakes
- Unsafe hospital or medical practice conditions
- Defective equipment
- Anesthesia mistakes
- And more!
Some of these issues may be immediately apparent, but others may not be discovered until a great deal of time has passed.
Understanding How Much Time You Have
As mentioned above, the clock starts ticking for medical malpractice in Maryland when your injury happens. For example, if you had surgery on January 1, 2023 and your injury occurred during it, the length of time that you have may be calculated using that date.
However, things become more complicated when you consider when the issue was discovered or when it is reasonable that you would have discovered it. If you have surgery and an object is left behind in your body, it might not be discovered until a few years later during another surgery. Instead of your clock starting on the date of your surgery, in this case, it would start on the date that the second surgeon found the object.
Contact Mobley & Brown, LLP for Help With Your Medical Malpractice Case
When you are interested in exploring your options for recovery due to medical malpractice in Maryland, you need the right legal assistance. Our experienced legal team is looking forward to working with you to meet your needs. Call us now at (410) 385-0398.
