Following an instance of medical negligence, most victims of wrongdoing are too preoccupied with recovering from their injuries to think about anything else. However, taking time out to determine who is liable for your injuries is important if you hope to seek financial compensation to pay for your medical care. Also, it’s important to take the time to do this as soon as possible fallowing your injury.
All medical malpractice claims have statutes of limitation that apply to them. In other words, malpractice victims have a limited amount of time within which to file their claims, or they will forever be barred from doing so.
In the state of Washington, a three-year statute of limitation is associated with all medical malpractice matters. This three-year time period begins to toll on the date that the wrongdoing occurred. However, if the the plaintiff does not discover the wrongdoing until later, then a 1-year time limitation will apply from the date of discovery.
Minors receive special status when it comes to statutes of limitation. No matter when the medical negligence or wrongdoing happened in the child’s life, he or she will have until one year after turning the age of 18 to file a malpractice lawsuit.
In the case of an individual’s death, family members have the right to pursue a medical malpractice claim within three years of the date of death. In fact, this three-year time limitation applies to all wrongful death matters no matter how the death occurred.
Were you injured by medical malpractice? Due to time limitations, you may want to speak with a qualified medical malpractice lawyer as soon as possible to evaluate the viability of your potential claim for damages. At Reinig Barber & Henry, in Benton, Washington, our personal injury lawyers are available to advise you of your legal rights and options in a free, no-obligation, first-time consultation.
