Medical Malpractice Washington
The Washington Medical Malpractice statute states that an action for negligence arising out of treatment provided by a healthcare provider:
"shall be commenced within three years of the act or omission alleged to have caused the injury or condition, or one year of the time the patient or his representative discovered or reasonably should have discovered that the injury or condition was caused by said act or omission, whichever period expires later, except that in no event shall an action be commenced more than eight years after said act or omission: PROVIDED, That the time for commencement of an action is tolled upon proof of fraud, intentional concealment, or the presence of a foreign body not intended to have a therapeutic or diagnostic purpose or effect, until the date the patient or the patient's representative has actual knowledge of the act of fraud or concealment, or of the presence of the foreign body; the patient or the patient's representative has one year from the date of the actual knowledge in which to commence a civil action for damages."
As a general rule therefore, a medical malpractice case must be commenced by filing a lawsuit with the appropriate court within three years of the alleged negligent treatment. There are however exceptions to this rule and we will advise you as to when the time limit will likely expire based on the specific facts of your case.
Given that there are time limits however, if you believe that you may have a case, you should proceed with an evaluation sooner rather than later so that you do not run out of time.
Medical Malpractice Oregon
The Oregon Medical Malpractice statute states that:
"An action for injury caused by medical malpractice must be commenced within two years from the date the injury is discovered or in the exercise of reasonable care should have been discovered. Except in cases of fraud or misrepresentation, an action must also be commenced within five years from the date of the treatment or omission."
Oregon's wrongful death statute of limitations applies to actions for death caused by medical malpractice. This requires that an action be brought within three years after the injury causing the death is discovered (or reasonably should have been discovered) by the decedent, his representative, or a beneficiary, but in no case more than three years after the date of death or outside the five-year medical malpractice statute of repose.
Given that there are time limits and the rules can be complicated to apply, if you believe that you may have a case, you should proceed with an evaluation sooner rather than later so that you do not run out of time.
Personal Injury Cases
The time limits within which you must file a personal injury claim will depend on the nature of the case and whether the events giving rise to the lawsuit occurred in Washington or Oregon. If you believe that you may have a case, you should proceed with an evaluation sooner rather than later so that you do not run out of time.