Statute of Limitations in Medical Malpractice Cases: What You Need to Know

You expect a modicum of care and professionalism from the doctors who care for you. However, thousands of people every year suffer harm due to the negligence of their medical providers. It’s important to hold doctors and other medical professionals accountable when that happens, but the clock is ticking on your medical malpractice case. Here’s what you need to know.

Illinois Statute of Limitations on Medical Malpractice Cases

If you’ve suffered an injury at the hands of a medical professional due to their decisions or negligence, you likely have a medical malpractice claim on your hands. However, you must act quickly, or you may lose your chance to set things right. Illinois law states that you have two years from the date of an injury to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. What if you discover your injury later than that? You may have no longer than four years in that case.

Why Do Statutes of Limitation Exist?

The law stipulates time limitations for medical malpractice claims for several reasons. One of those is to help maintain the integrity of medical practices. The longer you go without filing your claim, the more people a medical professional’s negligence might affect. It also helps ensure that the claims made are truly related to the medical procedure and not something that occurred later.

How to Prove Medical Negligence

Proving medical negligence is challenging. For your case to be considered valid, you must establish four things. First, you must show that the medical professional had a duty owed to you. Second, you must show that the medical professional breached that duty. Third, you must show that you suffered injury due to that breach of duty. Finally, you must illustrate the damages that resulted from that injury and breach of duty. Those damages can include things like pain and suffering, emotional disturbance, and financial costs.

Often, the most difficult element to prove is causation. You must prove that the medical professional acted with negligence when providing you care and that negligence directly resulted in your injury. For instance, failure to diagnose a medical condition could lead directly to worsening pain and suffering, as well as financial costs of treatment for an advanced condition that could have been successfully treated had it been diagnosed earlier.

Are you suffering as the result of negligence on the part of a medical professional? Get in touch with us today to discuss your potential medical malpractice case.