When compared to the statutes of limitations other US states impose in personal injury lawsuits, Florida’s deadline is relatively long. For all actions based upon negligence, such as car accidents and slip and falls, the victim has four years to file a lawsuit in court. The clock starts to run on the date of the accident, and the person loses the right to sue if the time restriction expires. There is a special statute of limitations for medical malpractice actions, however. The deadline is shorter, so you have two years from the date of the incident giving rise to the cause of action.
The statute of limitations creates a tricky situation with a specific type of med mal case in which a healthcare provider misdiagnoses the patient. The clock could run out on the two-year deadline, which is why lawmakers provided the “discovery” rule in the statute of limitations. A Miami diagnosis errors attorney will describe how the law applies to your situation, but there are a few things to know.
How the Discovery Rule Works