how long after a surgery can you take legal action is something was done weong?
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how long after a surgery can you take legal action is something was done weong?
Had knee surgery and a procedure was
done that I was not aware of until
after the surgery an now I need a knee
replacement.
Asked on April 20, 2017 under Malpractice Law, Tennessee
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
All legal action must be commenced within the statutory period prescribed by state law; this is known as the "statute of limitations". In TN, the statute of limitations for medical malpractice cases is 1 year. That typically means 1 year from the date on which the alleged malpractice occurred, however in some cases the “clock” doesn’t start running right away. Therefore, if the injury is not discovered within that 1 year period, the statute of limitations period beings to run on the date on which the injury is discovered, and the filing deadline is 1 year from that date but up to a maximum of 3 years after the negligence/ommission occurred. That having been said, there is no 3 year maximum (i.e. you only have 1 year to file a malpractice claim) if: a case involves fraudulent concealment on the part of the defendant, or 2) a foreign object was negligently left in a patient's body.
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