You can’t wait forever to bring your medical malpractice lawsuit. As Marlo Greer explains in a recent video, in Colorado, you only have two years to do so. The question is, when does that two-year clock start ticking?
Marlo points out that the safest way to make sure your medical malpractice claim is brought within those two years is to file your lawsuit within two years of when the procedure happened or the treatment that caused your injury.
That doesn’t mean that you are completely shut out from suing if you bring your suit more than two years after your treatment or surgery. The way the law is written is that the two-year period begins on the date when you knew of or should have known of both your injury and its cause. In some cases, the injury caused by medical malpractice may not reveal itself until some time after the surgery is over or the treatment has ended.
Fights Over When You Knew About the Injury
Here is where things can get tricky. If you wait beyond the two years after your treatment ended or the surgery happened and claim that you did not discover the injury you are suing for until later, the insurance company representing the doctor you’re suing is likely to challenge that. They will argue that:
- You knew about your injury earlier and
- You knew that your medical procedure was likely the cause of that injury earlier
What they are trying to do there is to convince the court that you “knew or should have known” of both the injury and its cause early enough so that your lawsuit was filed too late.
The court may agree with them. It may not. But as Marlo points out, the safest way to file a medical malpractice lawsuit is to do so as soon as possible, within those two years after your treatment has ended or you have had your surgery.
An Even More Serious Deadline
There is another limit that is very important to keep in mind when it comes to medical malpractice cases. In Colorado, you will not be able to bring a lawsuit for medical malpractice more than three years after your treatment ended or your surgery took place – even if you don’t discover the injury caused by that malpractice until after those three years have passed. There are some exceptions to this harsh rule that favors doctors and insurance companies, but not many.
Contact Greer Law if You’ve Been Injured by Your Doctor
Two years (three at the most) is not a long time. And while different states have different limitations periods, no matter where you live, it’s important to take prompt steps if you have suffered because of medical malpractice. If you suspect that you have been injured because of malpractice committed by your doctor or another medical professional, contact Greer Law as soon as possible to discuss your case. We can evaluate your concerns and give you a good idea of what steps you can take to seek compensation for your injuries.
Don’t delay – call Greer Law at 303-331-6460, or submit our contact form so we can schedule a free case evaluation.
META title: Statue of Limitations Malpractice | Greer Law
Description: You need to move promptly if you suspect you have been injured because of medical malpractice. Greer Law can help.
Did you know that in Colorado, you only have two years to bring a lawsuit for medical malpractice? As Marlo Greer discusses in her video on this topic (link in comments), if you wait too long to bring your lawsuit, you may lose the right to recover anything for your injuries.
The key question is when you learned of or should have learned of both your injury and its cause. That can sometimes extend the two-year period because some injuries don’t reveal themselves right away. But when you rely on that “learned of or should have learned of” language, you make it easy for the insurance company’s lawyers to argue that you should have sued earlier.
As Marlo points out, the safest way to make sure you are within that two-year period is to sue within two years of when your treatment ended or when your surgery was.
If you have been injured by a medical professional and have questions about recovering compensation for your injuries, message Greer Law today. We’ll schedule a free case evaluation to review your situation and answer your questions.
