If you believe you were harmed due to medical negligence from a health care provider, you have a limited amount of time in which to file a lawsuit. Before you can file suit, you will need to determine whether or not your case falls under Louisiana’s medical malpractice statute.
Keep reading to learn more about when to file medical malpractice suit in Louisiana, from what counts as malpractice to the timeline you can expect to follow.
One important part of determining when to file a medical negligence suit is figuring out whether or not your case constitutes malpractice. In Louisiana, medical malpractice is defined under La. R.S. 40:1231.1, which outlines the legal framework for claims against healthcare providers for professional negligence. Under Louisiana law, medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider fails to meet the accepted standard of care, resulting in harm to a patient. Specifically, the law applies to licensed health care providers or state health care providers.
Louisiana law recognizes four main types of medical malpractice, which include:
If you want to learn whether or not you qualify for compensation under the Louisiana Medical Malpractice Act, don’t hesitate to get help from an experienced attorney. We can provide valuable legal counsel when health care providers breach the law.
Filing a medical malpractice lawsuit is a complex and highly regulated process. There are several important steps that must be followed that can impact how long you have to file a lawsuit.
In Louisiana, before filing a medical malpractice lawsuit, you must submit your claim to a medical review panel, which is a mandatory step in the filing process. The medical review panel consists of three healthcare providers and one attorney who acts as chairman but does not vote. The opinion rendered by the medical review panel is not binding, but it can be introduced as evidence in court if the claimant decides to proceed with a lawsuit after the review.
The medical review panel process can take up to twelve months or longer, and the statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit is suspended during this time. Once you submit your request for a medical review panel, the statute of limitations for filing your lawsuit is paused until 90 days after the panel issues its opinion.
The key limit on when you can file a medical malpractice suit in Louisiana is the statute of limitations. In Louisiana, the statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims is one year from the date of the injury or from the date the injury was discovered, with a maximum of three years from the date of the malpractice, regardless of discovery. The discovery rule works by postponing the statute of limitations to the point when the injury was discovered.
However, there are exceptions to this rule. For children under the age of six, Louisiana allows medical malpractice claims to be filed until their 19th birthday, but no later than three years from the date of the alleged malpractice.
Keep in mind that when a claim is submitted to a medical review panel in Louisiana, the statute of limitations is suspended, meaning the time limit for filing a lawsuit is paused until the panel issues its opinion. Once the Medical Review Panel issues its official opinion, the individual has a narrow window—typically 90 days plus any remaining time left on their original one-year clock—to file a malpractice lawsuit in court.
While you might think that the medical review panel process and discovery rule might give you more flexibility when it comes to filing a lawsuit, but the truth is that you should still be acting on your legal rights as soon as possible. Gathering medical records and consulting expert witnesses for a medical malpractice claim can be a lengthy process. Your medical malpractice attorney can help speed up the process, but there are still many complicated steps that have to be taken.
With this in mind, it’s in your best interest to move forward with legal action for medical errors as soon as you discover them.
When you receive care from someone who you believe to be a qualified health care provider, you deserve to receive medical care in keeping with accepted standards. When physicians, dentists, nurses, private doctors, and other health care providers commit medical mistakes, injured patients can count on medical malpractice attorneys for help filing a strong suit on time.
Here at Cardone Law Firm, we help patients harmed by malpractice access early legal consultations by offering free, no-obligation case reviews. You can count on us to provide the guidance you need to seek compensation for injuries caused by medical professionals.
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