Medical negligence refers to when a medical professional fails to abide by the standard duty of care when treating his patients. When a medical professional is negligent, the patients he or she harms have the right to pursue medical malpractice lawsuits to try to recover compensation for the complications they suffered due to the negligence. If you are considering filing a medical malpractice claim in Fort Lauderdale, you should know that there is a narrow window of time in which you must file the claim if you expect to receive compensation. This time frame is called the “statute of limitations.”
Almost any type of legal activity is reliant on a statute of limitations. This term essentially means that you can only pursue legal action within a certain amount of time after the incident takes place. If you attempt to file a claim for an incident that took place outside of this time frame, your case may be dismissed by default.
Florida’s Statute of Limitations for Medical Malpractice Suits
In Florida, there is a statute of limitations surrounding medical malpractice claims. If you’ve discovered harm resulting from a medical malpractice incident, you have just two years to file a claim. If you know the date on which the damage took place, you have four years to file a claim.
There are certain situations in which a person may have this time limit extended. If there were efforts made to keep you from discovering the injury or negligence through the use of concealment, deceit, or misrepresentation, you have an additional two years to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.
In all, a Florida resident has no more than seven years in which to file a claim for a medical malpractice incident. In most cases, a person harmed by medical malpractice has just two years to pursue legal action. If a medical professional injured a child younger than eight years old, the child’s guardian must file a medical negligence claim before the child’s eighth birthday.
Working with a Fort Lauderdale Medical Malpractice Lawyer
At Salpeter Gitkin, LLP, our team of medical malpractice lawyers in Fort Lauderdale have extensive experience handling complex medical malpractice cases. Life moves quickly, and before you know it, the deadline for your case can disappear. The sooner you talk to us about your medical malpractice case, the better your chance will be to recover the compensation you deserve. Allow our resourceful attorneys to promptly resolve your lawsuit.
Don’t hesitate another day to start the claims process. Receive a free consultation when you call toll-free (800) 675-4128. We’re available to talk around-the-clock.
