Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in California

Re: Statue of Limitations

The statute of limitations in medical malpractice is tricky. If any defendant is a government entity, then a notice of claim must be properly claimed within 6 months of the discovery of the injury. If it is not government, it is the lesser of 1 years following discovery of the injury and its negligent cause, or 3 years of the date of injury. There are certain statutory provisions that toll the 3 years statute and certain fact scenarios which have been held by the cases that toll the start of the running of the 1 year statute.

An attorney with a lot of experience with medical malpractice should be immediately consulted. This firm and others will provide an initial consultation without cost, and take steps to protect the statute of limitations. If you are coming up on the 1 years date, the statute can be extended for 90 days by serving a statutory notice of claim to the health care providers involved.

I hope this helps. Call my office if you want us to review this matter for you.

Re: Statue of Limitations

California has a two part statute of limitation test. (CCP 340.5) Provided that you are/were not a minor, the time for the commencement of action is three years after the date of injury or one year after the plaintiff discovers, or through the use of reasonable diligence should have discovered, the injury, whichever occurs first.

In some cases, the statute will be extended upon a showing of fraud, intentional concealment, or the presence of a foreign body, which has no therapeutic or diagnostic purpose or effect, in the person of the injured person.

If you have a suspicion that negligence may have occurred, this may be sufficient to trigger the one year statute. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me or request that your County Bar Association provide you a referral to an attorney experienced in medical negligence actions.