Q: This a question regarding professional mal practice and statute of limitations.
In regards to the statute of limitation and the discovery rule, what is deemed to be legitimate understanding of when the plaintiff should have know of professional malpractice? In theory, the plaintiff does not know all the laws regarding what would be a valid claim of malpractice. So if they were to contact a another lawyer which resulted in a denied representation would that start the clock? What about when a lawyer agreed to take the case and affirmed the evidence shows that malpractice occurred?
The way I see it, is that until a professional in such a field is able to affirm such act took place the plaintiff could not have known. I.e. In the case of medical mal practice, someone can their arm hurt months after a surgery. Goes to one doctor, everything is fine they say. That happens twice. The third doctor finds that the surgery was done incorrectly. Discovery would start upon confirmation from the third doctor and trump the statute of limitations I would assume.
A: An Arizona attorney should advise you, as such laws can be state-specific. But until you arrange a consult, discovery doesn't generally mean discovering that a law applied only after learning the applicable law about your matter.
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