What are my rights regarding medical malpractice?
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What are my rights regarding medical malpractice?
About 5 years ago, I was diagnosed with transverse myelitis. Days before this happened, I couldn’t urinate so I went to a clinic. They drained my urine and told me to go to a hospital if it happened again, which it did. I went to the emergency room and they left a catheter inside me and said it might be UTI and because I had a fever they said go home and just to take Tylenol. The next day, almost 24 hours from then, I was paralyzed from the stomach down. What are my options?
Asked on July 10, 2018 under Malpractice Law, Minnesota
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
Unfortunately, it may be too late to do anything, if we understand your timeline correctly. The "statute of limitations," or time within which a malpractice lawsuit MUST be started in your state, is four (4) years from when the medical injury occured. But you write that this occured "about 5 years ago"--that means you may be out of time, since once the statute of limitations has been exceeded, you cannot bring a legal action.
There are some exceptions which can extend the statutory period. Speak to a medical malpractice lawyer in your state IMMEDIATELY, before more time goes by, to see if there is any way to still file a case. If there is, file one: based on what you write, this may well be malpractice. If later, as you get further into the case, some weakness or problem with your case is discovered, you can always dismiss the case--the important thing is to get it filed, if you still can. Good luck.
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