Do you have a medical malpractice case in Mississippi? You need to talk to a lawyer immediately to ensure it is not past the statute of limitations. Call us at 662-335-4171 or contact us online for a free case review.
If a health care professional injured you during medical treatment, you could have a claim for medical malpractice.
To bring a medical malpractice lawsuit in Mississippi, you must file the case within specified deadlines. The statute of limitations provides the deadlines for filing your claim.
Different types of claims have different filing deadlines. Once the statute of limitations runs, this can prevent you from bringing the claim at all. This means that you will not be able to seek compensation for your injuries, even if you could have otherwise.
Because the statute of limitations can ban your claim from Mississippi courts entirely, you should consult an attorney. A lawyer can help ensure that you do not lose the right to bring your claim because the filing deadline passed.
Deadlines for Filing a Lawsuit for Medical Malpractice in Mississippi
Mississippi deals specifically with the medical malpractice statute of limitations in Mississippi Code § 15-1-36. Under the Mississippi Code, medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within two years of the day the malpractice occurred.
If malpractice was not apparent on the day it happened, the statute of limitations might start when the error is discovered. In other words, once you are aware of the malpractice, you have two years to file a medical malpractice suit.
Note that Mississippi does not allow a patient to bring a medical malpractice suit for incidents over seven years old. The court will not start the two-year statute of limitations over if more than seven years have passed since the error happened. This is true even if you exercised reasonable diligence and could not have discovered the malpractice sooner.
Of course, there are exceptions to this seven-year limitations period, but in only two circumstances. A court may start the statute of limitations over from the day of discovery, even after seven years have passed, if:
- The case involves a foreign object left inside a patient during surgery or
- The health care provider concealed a medical error or another form of malpractice through fraud (intentional misrepresentation of fact).
In these situations, the court may allow you to start the statute of limitations over from the day you discover the object or the fraud, even if the error happened over seven years earlier.
Exceptions to the Mississippi Medical Malpractice Statute of Limitations
The Mississippi medical malpractice statute of limitations law gives a few situations where the filing deadline might vary from the general two-year limit. For example, a patient that was younger than six years old at the time of the incident may file a lawsuit within two years of the patient’s sixth birthday.
Also, a person who was mentally “unsound” at the time of the malpractice has two years from the time the person becomes mentally sound to file a lawsuit. This exception only applies if the person regains a sound mind within 21 years.
Contact an Experienced Lawyer at Harris Law Today
Mississippi medical malpractice laws are complex. In addition, the medical malpractice statute of limitations laws. Because of the complexity involved in both, it is especially tricky for those inexperienced in Mississippi law to pursue medical malpractice claims.
If you wish to pursue a medical malpractice claim, contact a lawyer immediately to ensure you file your claim before the statute of limitations expires.
At Harris Law, our dedicated medical malpractice lawyers strive to hold responsible parties accountable for their misconduct. Let our medical malpractice attorneys help you pursue justice and the compensation you deserve. Contact our legal team to schedule your free case review.
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