Specifically, concerning clinical negligence claims, the Limitation Act 1980 lays down some rules to govern it, stating that an adult has a three-year lifespan in which to start a medical negligence compensation claim from the time the negligent treatment was delivered or any time the claimant received the ‘date of knowledge’. When it comes to the ‘date of knowledge’ it means the date the claimant got to know of the injury, for example the date of being informed of cancer if this was not done immediately.

Another aspect to note is that this time is for presenting your claim to the court and not the initiation of the process with your solicitor. This is because, before filing your claim to the court, there are various tasks that must be undertaken, for instance, finding and obtaining the necessary medical reports from qualified medical doctors. Usually, this work may take weeks or even months and for this reason, to enable you provide sufficient time to make your claim.

However, as identified earlier, there are several circumstances through which the 3 years limitation period may be suspended as follows…

Children

From a legal point of view, under eighteen years of age, an individual is unable to bring an instruction on medical negligence compensation on their own. Nonetheless, parents, guardians or any ‘suitable person’ known as the ‘litigation friend’ has the capacity to pursue the compensation claim on behalf of a child. This can be done at any time before the date of the child’s eighteenth birthday regardless of how long it has been since the incident occurred and regardless of the age of the child at the time of the abuse. The parent or the guardian has the right to make a claim on the child’s behalf and in the incident & the child has to avail him or herself of the right of presentation of the claim only after attaining the age of 18 years and within three years from the date of his or her eighteenth birthday to present the claim to the court.

Mental Illnesses

When a claimant relies on the Mental Health Act (1983) he/she has to be able to reason sufficiently in order to institute a compensation claim. However, should a patient meet a specific and documented mental capacity deficit at the time of the injury or negligence and that deficit disqualifies such a patient from filing a claim, the Statute of Limitations for medical negligence compensation claims stops the three-year countdown from running until the patient regains sufficient mental health to seek compensation.

Brain Damage

If due to medical negligence the patient develops brain damage or was a brain damage patient right from the beginning but later gets worsened in the course of treatment, then there is no restriction regarding claim. In the case where a litigant part never regains capacity to bring the claim himself, the claim could be pursued on his behalf by a ‘Litigation Friend’.

Death
As for the patient who has regrettably died either because of the negligence or for any other reason, the provisions of the statute allow for the family of the deceased patient to pursue the claim for three years starting from the date of death of the patient irrespective of the fact that the limitation period in this case has come to an end. On the other hand, if a person passes on while there is still an ongoing claim, then the family is privy to a scheduled time of three years from the time of the patient’s death to carry on with the same. As the claim is to be made on behalf of the deceased’s estate there is a necessity that the person that will bring the claim has standing, i.e., they are named on the Grant of Probate or the Executor of the Will.

For further discussion make a contact with Medical Malpractice Attorney in Miami Gardens, FL so, he/she can guide you accordingly.