When you decide to see a healthcare provider for an illness or injury that you’re suffering from, you expect to leave the hospital or office in a better condition than when you entered. If you end up being harmed more by your doctor’s negligence or recklessness, then you might have experienced medical malpractice and you could take legal action.
Before you go to file a legal claim against the medical professional who hurt you, you will want to know your state’s statute of limitations. Let’s take a look at the law in Minnesota so that you can easily identify whether or not you are within the timeline to make a claim.
Minnesota Statutes Section 541.076
Knowing the laws in your state is important when it comes to filing a legal claim. One of the most vital statutes that you’ll need to pay attention to is the statute of limitations because it determines whether or not you’re able to file a claim in the first place. Minnesota Statutes Section 541.076 contains the statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims and how long you have to file.
According to state legislature, a patient has four years from the date that a doctor or other healthcare provider caused them damage to file a med mal claim against them. That action that harmed the patient could be malpractice, an error, a mistake, or failure to cure. Of course, there are other ways that medical malpractice occurs, these are the main ones that are listed in the statute.
Some states have a rule called the discover rule that changes when the statute of limitation starts counting down. This means that if a patient doesn’t discover that they’re injured until much later than the date that the injury occurred, then the statute of limitations begins when they discover the injury, not when it occurred.
However, that is not the case in Minnesota. Our state strictly follows the statute, and the four years begins counting down when the act of medical negligence happened. Even if you don’t realize that you’re injured until years after the doctor hurt you, you still only have four years from the date it happened.
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Can You Get More Time?
In some special cases, the statute of limitations for medical malpractice in Minnesota can be extended. Here are the special scenarios that could warrant an extension for the statute of limitations:
- The party who injured you is out of state, can’t be found, and therefore can’t be served.
- The patient who was injured has been declared legally insane.
- The patient who was injured was a minor.
There are special rules that apply when the patient who was injured was a minor. While being a minor warrants a suspension for the med mal statute of limitations, that suspension isn’t indefinite. The longest the suspension can last is seven years. After a minor turns 18, though, the suspension can only last for one year.
Extensions can be complex and confusing, which is why a medical malpractice lawyer can be beneficial to you. If you have any questions, you should reach out to a lawyer so that you can get answers and feel more confident in your claim.
Other Facts About Med Mal Laws
The parts of Minnesota med mal statute of limitations listed above aren’t the only complexities that exist in state med mal laws. While these aren’t parts of the statute of limitations, it’s important to know these aspects of medical malpractice laws so that you’re informed and know what goes into your claim. One of those other aspects is the requirements in Minnesota that are in place to keep people from filing claims needlessly.
One of those requirements prior to filing are that your lawyer has had a medical expert also look at the case, and they have an affidavit to prove that. The other requirement is that you must have a medical expert identified who you will call to be a witness in your case. Along with identifying the expert, your attorney will have to give the expert’s opinions about what happened and why they think that way.
Another part of Minnesota med mal law that you should know is that there are no damages caps. Both economic and noneconomic damages are not capped in our state, which means you can get the full compensation that you deserve without worrying about limits. This could be one of the reasons that there are requirements to keep people from filing frivolous claims.
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Madia Law LLC Can Represent You
Medical malpractice statutes of limitations can be confusing, especially when you’re unsure if yours could be extended. If you have questions about your potential claim, then you could benefit from hiring a Minneapolis medical malpractice lawyer from our firm. At Madia Law LLC, we’re dedicated to keeping you informed and answering all of your questions so that you can understand your own claim.
You shouldn’t feel left in the dark when it’s your physical, emotional, and financial health that are impacted. With the help of one of our attorneys, you can have peace of mind knowing that you are being represented by experts. Reach out to us today so we can get started.
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