What is the discovery rule in medical malpractice cases?

Medical malpractice or hospital neglect claims are different from many other civil lawsuits in the sense that they are subjected to a statute of limitations. What exactly does a statute of limitations entail? As per Austin, TX medical malpractice lawyers and some of the best in the business are from the Robson Law Firm, the statute of limitations in medical malpractice is essentially an expiry date within which the claim/lawsuit must be filed.

Time Limit Defined

Each state has a different time period that they describe as their statute of limitations, which ranges from 2 to 6 years. In Texas, the statute of limitations in medical malpractice law is 2 years after the incident of malpractice occurred.

When it comes to medical malpractice lawsuits, the statute of limitations basically dictates that they need to be filed within the time specified from the date when the actual malpractice/incident itself occurred. So for instance if a state defines its statute of limitations is 2 years as in the case of Texas, then a plaintiff/victim of medical malpractice will need to file their civil lawsuit alleging medical malpractice before 2 years from the date on which the negligence/malpractice is said to have occurred and your Central Texas medical malpractice lawyer will help you with this decision.

You need to contact the Robson Law Firm and waste no time in doing so.

What is the purpose of a statute of limitations?

The objective of a statute of limitations is to filter out potentially frivolous lawsuits where people try to get rich quick. Furthermore, it also keeps the schedule of the court room open for legitimate and deserving victims for their hospital neglect, nursing home abuse, or medical malpractice claims. Not for people who were derelict on their duty and failed to act in a timely manner. They lost their chance, the window has closed. And the window was open for a couple of years.

Another factor that the statute of limitations inherently takes care of is the fact that when medical malpractice lawsuits are filed many years after the actual malpractice then it is hard to make a ruling because often there is very little verifiable evidence and sometimes the hospital or healthcare professional being sued may be shut down or have retired/relocated, respectively.

The Discovery Rule and How it is Applied to the Statute of Limitations

For the most part, the statute of limitations makes perfect sense say legal professionals. But for one glaring loophole that Austin medical malpractice attorneys such as the outstanding Robson Law Firm know about. Soon after the statute of limitations was put into effect, there were a couple of cases where the plaintiff or the victim was not aware of the malpractice for a substantial amount of time after it had actually occurred. Two years may not be enough time in some cases.

When they finally discovered that they were mistreated, provided substandard treatment, or misdiagnosed (whatever the case maybe) and got around to filing the lawsuit or claim, the statute of limitations had already expired and they were left in a rather unfortunate predicament.

You pay them nothing upfront. They are not paid until you are paid. They only take a percentage of the final settlement. You are kept informed every step of the way. They are the Robson Law Firm. If you need an Austin, Texas medical malpractice lawyer, they are the legal professionals you should call. 

Especially with medical or health related claims, a patient may have been inflicted with an underlying condition (illness, injury) that does not surface or display symptoms for many years in some cases. Therefore, it is not reasonable to expect them to be aware of the malpractice and file a lawsuit prior to this discovery. This is precisely the reason the rule of discovery was passed into effect and Central Texas medical malpractice lawyers say that it addresses the issue quite effectively.

The discovery rule basically suspends the statute of limitations in its tracks. The countdown of the statute of limitations in such cases begins from not when the malpractice or hospital neglect occurred but from when the patient discovered or should have reasonably discovered that malpractice had occurred. Now this makes some sense and if you do not file a suit with two years of that date then that is on you and there should not be any legal recourse. 

This no time for guess work. This is math, you either know how to do it or you do not. Right now, if you have any concerns about an issue you had in the hospital or are having in a hospital you need to contact the Robson Law Firm (http://robsonlawfirm.com/). If the hospital or the doctor or anyone else in the medical community failed to do their job, they should pay or they will just continue making the same careless mistake.