Q: Statue of limitation on a medical mistake where the doctors did not know the long term affects of the medical mistake.
I was born October 9th, 1997 in Manchester New Hampshire.
My doctor had just started his career as being a doctor.
He over mediciated my mother at the time of my birth.
So much so, that I was born dead. I spent a significant amount of time in the NICU before being allowed to go home.
Following the incident, the newly starting doctor resigned. It is unclear if he was given a choice to resign, or to be fired from the incident.
The head Neonatal doctor said there was no signs of any affects from the medicine at the time, however they “Did not know what the long term affects were going to be”.
It’s been 22 years and I do feel as if being over medicated and being born dead has affected me in numerous provable ways.
A:
This is really a question best handled by a New Hampshire attorney, but you await a response for four weeks. You're going to have to discuss the matter with a med mal attorney to find out how the statute of limitations would be handled. That's why this is a state-specific issue. As a general matter, some jurisdictions toll the statute of limitations for infancy, meaning the clock doesn't start to tick on bringing an action until the claimant reaches the age of eighteen (which itself could possibly be another state-specific element as to the age of majority).
Some jurisdictions also apply a "discovery" rule in medical malpractice cases, where the statute of limitations is tolled until a claimant discovers, or should have discovered, the injury/illness/disease/other condition resulting from the hospital's breach of duty. There could be other practical challenges as well, such as difficulty in retrieving medical records and the ability to locate parties for testimony. Contact an attorney to see if they will offer you a free initial consult to discuss the matter. Good luck
Tim Akpinar
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