When you get hurt due to someone else’s fault, you might have a legal claim against them to obtain a financial recovery. However, the statute of limitations under Oregon law imposes a deadline for filing lawsuits in personal injury and medical malpractice cases. Understanding how limitations periods apply to injury and medical negligence claims can help you file your claims on time so you do not lose the right to seek compensation for your harm and loss.
The General Rule: Two Years for Personal Injury Claims
In general, Oregon’s statute of limitations imposes a two-year deadline for filing a lawsuit for an injury claim arising from an accident or medical negligence. This deadline means that an injured person may lose their right to seek compensation in court if they file a lawsuit after the limitations period for their claim expires.
The statute of limitations ensures that people file injury claims within a reasonable time after their injury occurs. By requiring injured parties to file their claims promptly, the statute of limitations facilitates the hearing of claims before evidence is lost or witnesses’ memories fade. The statute of limitations also provides parties with the certainty that no viable claim will arise if an injured party does not file their lawsuit before the limitations period expires.
Medical Negligence Claims: The Discovery Rule and Statute of Repose
In personal injury claims, and more often in medical negligence claims, the discovery rule can alter how long an injured party may have to file their lawsuit. Under the rule, the statute of limitations does not begin to run until an injured party knows about their injury and the facts underlying their claim, or until they should know about their injury and claim if they exercise reasonable diligence. For example, suppose a surgeon leaves equipment inside a patient. The patient may not realize they have equipment inside them immediately after surgery but may later seek medical treatment when the equipment begins causing symptoms, leading to its discovery. In that case, the statute of limitations for the patient’s medical negligence claim may not begin to run until the patient learns that equipment was left inside them.
In Oregon, medical negligence claims also have a statute of repose. The statute of repose requires patients to file medical negligence claims within 5 years of the negligent treatment, regardless of when they discover their injury. However, the statute of repose may not apply when a patient does not discover their injury or claim because of a medical provider’s fraudulent conduct or concealment of facts.
Other Exceptions That Can Change the Filing Deadline
Various other rules and exceptions can also change the deadline for starting an official personal injury or medical negligence claim, such as:
- Children/people with disabling mental conditions: Under Oregon law, the statute of limitations can extend for up to five years when a minor or a person with a disabling mental condition has an injury claim, or up to one year after a minor turns 18 or the mental condition abates.
- Wrongful death: Should an injury or medical negligence claim turn into a wrongful death claim after a person’s death, their family has three years after they died to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
- Claims against government agencies or employees: A person with an injury claim against a government agency or employee must provide the government with notice of their claim within 180 days of an accident, as required by the Oregon Tort Claims Act
Contact Our Firm for Help Filing Your Personal Injury or Medical Malpractice Claim on Time
After you suffer injuries or harm due to someone else’s negligence or recklessness, you may have a legal claim to recover compensation. However, the statute of limitations imposes a deadline on pursuing your claim in court. Contact Wayne A. Lamb Law today for an initial consultation with a personal injury lawyer to learn how long you may have to file a lawsuit when you have a personal injury or medical malpractice claim in Oregon.