A lot of people erroneously believe that the two-year medical malpractice statute of limitations is in effect in Nevada. Most of these people therefore unwittingly allow their cases to expire.
By initiative petition, the state of Nevada changed the medical malpractice statute of limitations from two years to one year.
The statute will begin to run the moment the medical of doctor malpractice is discovered or should have been discovered.
The outer extreme of the new medical malpractice statute of limitations law in Nevada requires medical lawsuits to be filed within three years from the date of the doctor malpractice, regardless of the discovery date.
What this all means is that victims of doctor malpractice and wrongful death due to doctor malpractice must figure out pretty quickly what has happened to them, cut short their grieving and go through all the necessary legal and medical requirements in order to file timely and meritorious medical lawsuits within one year.
One of the greatest roadblocks of all to filing timely medical lawsuits is finding a medical expert who is in the same field as the doctor who committed the malpractice.
That medical expert witness must state embody his opinion in a written affidavit attached to the legal Complaint that the malpractice did in fact happen.
This involves a thorough research of the medical records, which are often hard for surviving family members to assemble from the various medical providers in the aftermath of great pain and loss that accompanies any injury or illness.
To add to the victims' burden, medical experts can be expensive. However, when seen from the expert's point of view, his task entails a lot of time and analysis and oftentimes a lot of courage to come forward and state his expert opinion.
Historically it was said that the medical community was engaged in a "conspiracy of silence" in which many doctors refused to come forward in the face of even the most obvious medical or doctor malpractice.
Often those that came forward faced the possibility of being ostracized or discredited in their tight knit communities.
However, recently there has been a noticeable and refreshing trend for ethical and concerned doctors to come forward and report malpractice, as they are required to do by many state codes.
This seems to be the result of a new attitude that embodies the belief that the medical community benefits from some degree of self policing and housecleaning.
In the long run insurance rates go down, the quality of medical care goes up and the resultant pride and trust in the medical community are greatly enhanced.
To sum it up, please bear in mind that Nevada's medical malpractice statute of limitations is only one year.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment