time limit for medical malpractice for child??

[pooh1965]

(arizona).. hi... my son, who is now 12 yrs old, has a severe learning disability. When he was a few months old, of which during the time we lived in nevada, he became very ill and had to be rushed to the hospital. He was in ICU for several weeks. The doctor talked to me and wanted to know what medications and dosages I had been giving him (he previously was in hospital with reactive airway problem and sent home with ventilator and meds). I told the doctor what I had been giving him. He requested to see the medication bottles (which I no longer have to date, but did at that time). The doctor advised me that my son was severely overdosed, and that one of the medication bottles was written and dispensed wrong at the pharmacy (something to the fact that it stated to give him two tablespoons of the medication instead of two drops from dropper). I filed a complaint and the pharmacy atty called me and pretty much made it sound like it was my fault for overdosing my son (that I should have questioned the amount of dosage, and not relied on what the bottle stated), so I never pursued this issue in court, thinking I would have been in trouble (I was also very young at the time, and now know better !!)... Now, I have been advised that he has a severe learning disability and he is very slow, mentally. I am wondering if this might have been caused by the incident when he was just an infant? If so, do I still have legal recourse to persue the pharmacy that made the error with his prescription, which resulted in hospitalization? is there a time limit for a child which one must take legal action ? I am now living out of state where the incident occurred... how would I find out if his disability is a result of that incident ? I no longer have that prescription bottle with the error dosage on it. any suggestions/advice ??? thank you very much....

 

[ALawyer]

This is a question I suggest that you pose on another Accident/Injury board - medical malpractice, not insurance - but let me give you some basics.

The statutes of limitation are usually tolled during infancy; in other words, even if this happened 12 years ago a suit can be brought in most states on behalf of the child.

The main difficulties your child's lawsuit would face are causation and proof.

Did this overdose cause or aggravate the problem? I'd look at some medical and drug websites to see if that was a possible effect, or ask a specialist, or even the drug company or FDA. Unless it did there possible would be no case.

Next, is how will you prove that the pharmacy and not YOU made that mistake? More evidence than your mere recollection 12 years later could be very important, if not critical. My sense is the drug store and doctor no longer are likely to have records of the overdose or anything else that would show they did anything wrong.

Finally -- my sense is you are still beating yourself up and feeling VERY guilty for giving the child the excessive dosage, and think if you did not everything would have been all right. You should get the facts and some counselling. One really does not know, and you may be needlessly blaming yourself for something that was solely in the control of the Almighty, or fate.