"Accrual" of the Cause of Action is when Time Limits for Filing Medical Malpractice, Surgical Malpractice or Wrongful Death Lawsuits Set by Statutes of Limitation begin to Run.

 

Statutes of Limitation begin to Run when a Cause of Action Accrues

Medical Malpractice, Surgical Malpractice and Wrongful Death

 

Statutes of limitation are laws that set out the time limits within which all cases, claims, causes of action, and lawsuits for medical malpractice, surgical malpractice, and wrongful death must be filed in court. If a medical malpractice, surgical malpractice, or wrongful death lawsuit is not filed before the time limit set by the statute of limitation runs out, then the lawsuit is barred and the cause of action lost forever.

The time limit provided by a statute of limitation is called the, "limitations period." The limitations period clock begins to run when a cause of actions "accrues." Statutes of limitation may vary widely from state to state. The general rule is that a cause of action for medical malpractice or surgical malpractice accrues when the act or omission giving rise to the cause of action for medical malpractice or surgical malpractice occurs and the injury is suffered. A cause of action for wrongful death accrues on the day the victim dies.

States may provide exceptions, called "tolling provisions," to the general rule that a cause of action for medical malpractice or surgical malpractice accrues when the act omission giving rise to the cause of action occurs and the injury is suffered. The most common exceptions are made for children, when a foreign object is left in a patient's body undiscovered, when a the doctor or surgeon who committed the malpractice continues to treat the injured victim, when the doctor or surgeon fraudulently conceals the malpractice, and when the injured victim is mentally or physically incapacitated.

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