<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, Verdana">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by lawrat:
I am a law school graduate. What I offer is mere information, not to be construed as forming an attorney client relationship.
OKay, whoever told you you have two years only to sue is wrong. There is a statute of limitations (most likely two years) for medical malpractice cases like yours. HOWEVER, because they just discovered a piece was still in you and required surgery to remove, you did not have knowledge of your injury until the discovery. From that point, you have two years to sue.
Get an attorney who specializes in medical malpractice in your state immediately. Check with attorneypages.com first and then check with your STATE BAR. They can give you referrals.
Hope this helps.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Dear Lawrat:
Just a slight, but nonetheless important, correction to your response. Here's the Delaware Medical Malpractice statute of limitations, which only affords our writer with one, extra, year:
"Any medical malpractice action, whether for injury or death, must be brought within two years after the date of the injury.
****If, however, the injury is not one that can be discovered with reasonable diligence, the claimant is afforded an additional year in which to bring an action.****
Id. For minors six years of age or younger, a medical malpractice action must be brought within the two-year time limit or by the child's sixth birthday, whichever is later."
Del. Code Ann. tit. 18, § 6856 (1989).
A former version of this statute, with substantially the same terms, has been held to be constitutional. Reyes v. Kent General Hospital, 487 A.2d 1142 (1984).
The date of "injury" was January 1997, and with the extra year, brings the matter to January 2000.
However, in order to get the extra year, the question then becomes "when did our writer first have symptoms, and could and should, with reasonable diligence, have discovered the problem. If she suffered with pain long before January of 2000, then she may have failed to use "reasonable diligence" to discover the malpractice. She just may be out of luck.
Thought you'd like to know, and best regards,
IAAL
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[This message has been edited by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE (edited June 03, 2000).]
