What’s the Statute of Limitations on Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice is a form of personal injury. Like all cases in this area of law, there is a statute of limitations. This means you have a certain amount of time to file a lawsuit after an injury. Every state has its own statutes that dictate when a lawsuit can be filed. In Texas, medical malpractice injuries have a two-year statute of limitations. You only have a couple years from the time of injury to get compensation.
However, Texas also has a complementary law about the statute of repose. If you undergo a lengthy treatment, and you only discover your injury after the treatment has ended, you have time to still file a lawsuit. In Texas, the statute of repose is 10 years. Finally, for children under 12 years of age who have suffered from medical malpractice injuries, parents/guardians have until the child’s 14th birthday to file a suit.
With these deadlines, it’s crucial for victims of medical malpractice to contact an attorney as soon as they realize they have been injured. Even if the full investigation has not been thoroughly completed, an attorney can get the ball rolling on filing the initial documents of a lawsuit to make sure you don’t miss the deadline and, consequently, miss out on compensation.