What Is the Statute of Limitations for Filing a Medical Malpractice Suit in Maryland?
If you have been injured by the negligence of a healthcare professional, you have the option of filing a medical malpractice lawsuit here in Maryland. But like every state, there is a statute of limitations that limits the time you have to bring such a suit. Talk to a medical malpractice lawyer in Maryland as quickly as possible so you have plenty of time to bring your claim.
From a Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Maryland: What Is the Statute of Limitations
In most cases, the statute of limitations for a medical malpractice lawsuit will be three years. It doesn’t matter whether you are suing an individual doctor or an enormous healthcare facility: three years is still the limit. There is one general exception to this, known as the discovery rule. The discovery rule applies when it’s not immediately apparent that you have an injury or when it’s not clear that the injury has any connection to negligent behavior on the part of a healthcare provider.
For example, in a surgery, if a surgeon leaves something inside the patient that should’ve been taken out, this may not be discovered for some days or even weeks. In some cases, the problem itself, manifesting symptoms like poor healing, infection, or pain, maybe become apparent fairly quickly, but it may still be some time before you find out the reason for the problem.
The discovery rule simply means that your three-year time limit starts at the time the injury is discovered, not necessarily the time it occurred. However, this is not an open-ended removal of the statute of limitations: you still must file within five years of the time you were treated.
Children
There is one specific exception to the three-year rule, and that is in the case of children. A child has until they turn 18 to bring a lawsuit, no matter how old they were when the injury happened. Check out this site to learn more about medical malpractice in Maryland and the timelines involved.
What to Do
Three years can pass much more quickly than you might think, and you should not assume that you ever have more than three years to bring your case. Always talk to a malpractice attorney as quickly as possible after you realize that there’s a problem and suspect there has been negligence. Your attorney will be able to evaluate the circumstances and give you a good idea of whether you have a claim and then advise you on the best way to successfully bring it.
Bear in mind that for Maryland malpractice claims, you will need a certificate of merit. This is a certificate signed by a healthcare professional who is willing to say that they believe the treatment you were given fell below the standard “duty of care” required for medical professionals. In other words, they must say that they believe another medical professional in the same situation would not have acted in that same way.
Medical malpractice lawsuits are difficult to win, so it’s vital that you speak to a lawyer as quickly as possible.
