Massachusetts Statutes of Limitation and Repose

Medical malpractice lawsuits often involve difficult questions of proof, i.e. proving a doctor’s error or mistake caused injury. To compound matter, there are circumstances where the medical malpractice is not immediately known.
It is extremely important for you to speak with a Massachusetts personal injury attorney as early as possible to determine if you have a medical malpractice claim due to the time limitations Massachusetts created for bringing these lawsuits. Two primary statutes your Massachusetts personal injury lawyer must work within are the statutes of limitation and repose.

Statute of Limitations
A statute of limitations places a time limit on your ability to seek a legal resolution of wrongful conduct. Some exceptions apply to this absolute time limit. A statute of limitations may also be stopped, or “tolled” for a period of time based on certain circumstances. These circumstances include whether the injured person was a minor, mentally incompetent, or declared bankruptcy. The “course of treatment” doctrine also recognizes that your course of treatment may include an ongoing series of acts or omissions in your treatment that causes the injury. This doctrine tolls the statute of limitations since the law recognizes the problem of requiring a personal injury attorney sue your doctor while you are still receiving medical treatment.

Your Massachusetts personal injury attorney has three years to file a medical malpractice action within seven years that the act or omission caused your injury. For minor children, the statute runs for three years from the date the cause of action, or until the age of nine for minors under the age of six.

Statute of Repose
A statute of repose is an absolute time limit for bringing a legal claim, regardless of when the cause of action begins. This limitation cannot be limited by tolling, even if you think your doctor committed fraud. The purpose of this statute is to reduce the cost of medical malpractice insurance for doctors by limiting the timeframe for bringing old lawsuits.

Your Massachusetts personal injury lawyer must file a medical malpractice action within seven years that the act or omission caused your injury. Medical malpractice claims on behalf of minors must be brought within this period as well. If a foreign object was left in your body, however, the statute of limitations period begins to run when you discover or should have discovered the presence of the foreign object.