Medical malpractice statute of limitations.

The three clocks

1. Limitations period. Typically 2–3 years from the act of malpractice. The starting point is modified by the discovery rule in almost every state.
2. Discovery rule. Starts the clock when the patient discovered (or with reasonable diligence should have discovered) the injury and its causal link to the medical care.
3. Statute of repose. A hard cutoff measured from the date of treatment, regardless of discovery. About 25 states impose one; common range 4–10 years.

How they interact

Example: state with a 2-year limitations period, discovery rule, and 6-year statute of repose. Patient has surgery in Year 0. Injury (e.g., retained foreign object) is discovered in Year 5. Limitations period: 2 years from discovery = Year 7. Statute of repose: 6 years from surgery = Year 6. The repose statute wins; suit must be filed by Year 6, not Year 7.

Minors

Most states toll the limitations clock during minority. Texas tolls until age 14 with a hard cutoff at age 14 plus the limitations period; California tolls until age 8 with a maximum of 3 years from negligent act for minors over age 6; Pennsylvania tolls until age 20. The interaction with repose statutes is jurisdiction-specific and unforgiving.

Government-defendant timing

If the defendant is a federal provider (VA, Indian Health Service, military), the Federal Tort Claims Act requires an administrative claim within 2 years of injury and suit within 6 months of denial. State-employed providers (county hospitals, public health departments) typically require a notice of claim within 6 months and suit within 1–2 years.

What stops the clock

• Continuing-treatment doctrine in some states: the clock starts when the relevant course of treatment ends.
• Fraudulent concealment by the provider, in most states.
• Foreign-object exceptions in many states (retained surgical items), which extend or restart the clock on discovery.