What are the rules on medical negligence

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What are the rules on medical negligence

My husband was diagnosed with ms in 2002. Then in 2018 after a mri of his brain and spine his neurologist when pressured by my questions finally told us he didn’t have ms. We have been told statue of limitations is past and there is nothing we can do. We were only told of the misdiagnosed 2002 at the appointment in May of 2018.

Asked on June 25, 2018 under Malpractice Law, Michigan

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 5 years ago | Contributor

Sixteen years is almost certainly beyond the statute of limitations: that statutory period is only two (2) years in your state, and while there are some doctrines or situations that can extend it, it is difficult to see any extending it for another 14 years.
But also--what would you be suing for? Lawsuits are not designed or intended to punish people for their mistakes or carelessness; they are designed to compensate people for physical injuries or costs or economic losses. Therefore, without significant physical injuries or costs/losses, you will not recover much money, if any, in a lawsuit. At the same time, some lawsuits, like medical malpractice ones, can be very expensive: even if you were to represent yourself "pro se" (as your own attoney, which is NOT recommended), you must hire a medical expert (doctor) to examine you, write a report, and testify: such experts can cost you several hundred to several thousand dollars, and you can't recover that cost from the other side--you pay the cost of your own expert. Therefore, unless the misdiagnosis caused you to incur large medical costs or some other significant monetary loss, or caused your husband to undergo some type of treatment that inflicted serious physical harm on him, you'd spend more on the lawsuit (even if you were still in time to file it) than you would get back.


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