Florida Medical Malpractice Cases: Statute Of Limitations
In Florida, when someone suffers an injury due to a medical professional’s negligence, they may be eligible for compensation. However, you only have a limited amount of time to file a Florida medical malpractice claim. And unfortunately, filing a claim late can result in you being barred from recovering compensation.
When it comes to medical malpractice cases, the statute of limitations is not always obvious. There are a lot of factors that go into determining how much time you have to file a claim. There are also some circumstances that allow you to extend how much time you have to file a claim. The following is information on the statute of limitations for Florida medical malpractice cases.
Two Year/Four Year Deadline
According to Florida Law, you are required to file a medical malpractice lawsuit within two years after you discover the harm or two years after you should have reasonably known about the harm. However, there are some exceptions to this general rule.
Suppose you or a loved one suffered an injury because of a medical professional’s negligence, but it was not apparent immediately that harm had occurred. What happens in such a case? Well, there is an outside deadline of four years from when the supposed negligence occurred. In other words, in Florida, you generally have four years from when the malpractice happened to file a medical malpractice lawsuit regardless of when you found out about the harm or should have reasonably found out about the harm. After four years, you can only be allowed to file a lawsuit if fraud, concealment, or deliberate misrepresentation is involved.
Extension When Malpractice Was Covered Up
If, after committing malpractice, a medical professional engaged in fraud, concealment, or deliberate misrepresentation to cover up what happened, after you discover the cover-up, you have an additional two years from that time to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. However, in a case where concealment, fraud, or deliberate misrepresentation is involved, you need to note that you cannot file a lawsuit if the malpractice happened more than seven years ago.
Cases Involving Young Children
In Florida, medical malpractice cases involving children are treated differently from those involving adults. Generally, in the case of a young child, a medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed even after the four- or seven-year deadline has passed as long as the lawsuit is filed before the child reaches the age of eight.
However, it is crucial to note that the 2-year statute of limitations may still bar a claim if you knew or should have reasonably known about your child’s injury.
Notice of Intent
According to Florida Statute 766.106, it is a requirement for a victim of medical negligence or a victim’s family to provide a Notice of Intent before filing a lawsuit. Providing this notice involves informing each prospective defendant of intent to initiate litigation. Basically, the main reason why this requirement exists is to prevent people from filing frivolous lawsuits. When a party provides a Notice of Intent, it makes it more likely that their claim is justified.
When a Notice of Intent is filed, a settlement process begins that lasts ninety days. Usually, during those ninety days, the statute of limitations is paused/tolled.
If you file for an “investigation period” to find an expert to help you with investigating your case, you may also be able to get an additional ninety days. However, it is vital to note that you cannot get extra days by filing for an investigation period if the deadline for filing your claim has already expired.
The bottom line when it comes to how much time you have to file a medical malpractice case is that things can be complicated. Because of this, if you or a loved one suffered an injury because of a medical professional’s negligence and you want to know if you still have time to file a claim, you should seek guidance from a qualified attorney.
Contact a Naples Medical Malpractice Attorney
If you are convinced you or a loved one suffered an injury because of a medical professional’s negligence, you may have a valid medical malpractice claim. However, determining whether you still have time to file your claim may not be that easy. You need to avoid assuming you do not have time to file a claim as you might not know the statute of limitations that applies to your case. Also, there might be an exception that applies to your case. Instead of making conclusions, consult an experienced Florida medical malpractice attorney.
For help, contact our Naples personal injury attorneys at The Law Offices of Marc L. Shapiro today.
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