How Long Do You Have to Sue a Doctor After Surgery in Missouri?

A doctor cannot guarantee a positive outcome when a patient undergoes surgery.

Some surgical complications are unavoidable, but when a patient suffers harm due to a preventable medical error, the injured patient or, if the patient is deceased, their family members may be able to recover compensation for their losses due to surgical malpractice.

You typically have 1 to 3 years to sue a doctor after surgery, depending on your state’s statute of limitations. The countdown begins on the surgery date or when the injury is discovered. Exceptions like fraud, concealment, or minor age may extend the time. Consult a medical malpractice lawyer promptly.

Can You Sue for Surgery Complications After Many Years?

Can you sue for surgery complications after two years? This is often very difficult to accomplish in Missouri. Children have until their twentieth birthday. However, the statute of limitation is very unforgiving in Missouri for adults.

In most cases, the statute of limitations requires a patient to file a claim for medical malpractice within two years from the date of the act of negligence. However, in death cases, the statute of limitation is three years.

However, when there is a component of a death case that involves a ‘loss-of-chance’ of avoiding death, the statute of limitation for that part of the claim is still two years. Stated another way, you should not delay getting to a lawyer as soon as possible after a surgical mishap.

Also, If the malpractice concerns surgery, the statute begins to run from the surgery date. Additionally, Missouri law has several exceptions to the general two-year statute of limitations. 

The first exception involves a surgeon leaving a foreign object in the body. If this happens, the patient has two years from the date that it is discovered that a foreign object was left in the body or whenever the patient could have discovered the object, whichever is earliest.

The second exception involves negligent failure to inform a patient of medical test results. This does not include negligently performed medical tests or informing a patient of erroneous test results.

When a doctor’s failure to inform a patient of test results causes unnecessary harm to the patient, the patient must file a claim within two years from the date of the discovery of their failure to inform or from the date on which the patient should have discovered the negligent failure to inform, whichever date is first. Negligent failure to inform cases involving tests performed more than two years before August 28, 1999, are completely barred. 

The third exception involves minor patients. A minor under 18 has until their 20th birthday to file a medical malpractice claim. The statute of repose (that is, the 10-year rule) does not apply to minors.

If the minor was under ten years old when the alleged negligence occurred, they have until their 20th birthday to file a claim, even if more than ten years go by. On the other hand, if the minor was 17 years old when the negligence occurred, they don’t get the full ten years. 

So while there is potential for a medical malpractice claim outside of the two-year statute of limitations, it depends on the circumstances surrounding the date of discovery of the surgeon or other healthcare provider’s negligence.

An experienced medical negligence lawyer can help determine the date of discovery in your case.

See what our clients have to say about our services:

What Are My Options If My Surgery Was More Than Two Years Ago?

Unfortunately, if you did not file your lawsuit within the statute of limitations, you are likely barred from or unable to pursue further legal action.

While the exceptions provide some buffer for a patient ignorant of a healthcare provider’s negligence, most courts see the statute of limitations as a hardline.

But, if you’re finding this website because you are just now suspecting negligence, perhaps there is hope for your medical malpractice claim.

As lawyers, it is our job to argue why a patient’s case meets an exception to the statute of limitations or why a patient could not have known about the negligence until two years after the surgery.

If you believe you have a medical negligence case, but are worried you are outside the statute of limitations, contact a lawyer immediately. 

Do I Have a Surgical Complications Lawsuit?

From pre-op to post-op, successful surgeries require harmonious teamwork from various healthcare providers. When a healthcare provider fails to provide reasonable care during the surgical process and the patient is injured, that provider may be liable for the outcome.

However, not all surgery-related injuries amount to medical practice. Proving medical malpractice requires meeting a certain legal standard of care. When a surgeon or other healthcare provider fails to meet their standard of care, that’s negligence. 

A healthcare provider must provide the level of care another healthcare provider with the same training and experience would provide under similar circumstances. When they fall below this standard, they could be held liable for medical malpractice because they were negligent.

Common surgical errors may include:

• Foreign objects left in the body,
• Hospital-acquired infection,
• Organ or nerve damage,
• Anesthesia errors,
• Wrong patient surgery, and
• Wrong-site surgery.

It’s almost impossible to understand how these mistakes are made, but pinpointing the cause makes a case easier to prove. Some causes of surgical mistakes include:

• Drug or alcohol use by the healthcare provider,
• Insufficient preoperative planning,
• Poor communication between the surgical staff,
• Healthcare provider fatigue, and
• Unqualified healthcare providers.

If your surgeon, healthcare provider, or medical facility where the surgery occurred was negligent, you may be eligible to file a medical malpractice claim in Missouri. You should not have to pay for your injuries out of pocket.  

Kansas City Medical Negligence Lawyers

The Kansas City medical negligence lawyers at Dempsey Kingsland Osteen have over 75 years of combined experience in medical negligence cases.

We are a unique law firm because we have a medical team that evaluates and assists in preparing the medical aspects of your case.

The combination of our legal experience and medical team has reached great settlements for our clients throughout the Kansas City area. Let us put our experience to work for you.

Where to find our Kansas City, MO office:

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