Statute of Limitations for Medical Malpractice in Florida

For most personal injury cases, the statute of limitations is 2 years from the date of the incident. For example, if you were hurt in a car accident, then you have 2 years from that day to file a personal injury lawsuit. 

Medical malpractice claims are a bit different because the injury isn’t always immediately apparent. For example, if your doctor fails to diagnose cancer, you might not realize that there was a missed diagnosis until months or even years after that appointment. It wouldn’t be fair for the statute of limitations to start running on the day that the doctor missed making the diagnosis, because you would have no way of knowing that any medical negligence occurred.

Instead, the rule for medical malpractice cases is that the statute of limitations starts to run when you discover or should have discovered the medical error. This is often referred to as the discovery rule in Florida medical malpractice cases.

Under this rule, the 2-year “clock” for the statute of limitations starts to run when you knew or should have known about the medical malpractice. Outside of the exceptions listed below, the maximum amount of time that you have to file a medical malpractice lawsuit is 4 years from the date of the error.

How does this work in practice? Consider the following scenario. 

A woman goes for her routine mammogram in December 2022 and receives a “clean” report (i.e., no cancer detected). In November 2023, she was diagnosed with breast cancer after experiencing some symptoms and noticing a large lump in her breast. It turns out that the radiologist made a mistake, and the “clean” report that she was sent was based on a different patient’s scan.

In this situation, the woman discovered the medical error in November 2023. That means that she has 2 years from the date of her breast cancer diagnosis to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. The statute of limitations will expire in November 2025, rather than in December 2024.

The discovery rule recognizes that it isn’t always possible for patients to know that they have been harmed by medical malpractice immediately. This is particularly true in misdiagnosis cases, where a patient might not realize that they didn’t get the correct diagnosis until more symptoms emerge and they get the right diagnosis.

However, the courts do expect that a patient will exercise “due diligence” in these cases. In other words, if a reasonably prudent person would have discovered the medical error sooner, then the statute of limitations will start to run when the patient should have known about it.

For example, a patient sees their family doctor for a persistent cough and chest pain and is diagnosed with bronchitis. Months later, they start coughing up blood but do not go back to the doctor or otherwise seek medical help for this concerning new symptom. They are ultimately diagnosed with lung cancer. 

In this case, a court might decide that the patient should have known their lung issue wasn’t just bronchitis when their cough didn’t stop and actually became much worse. A reasonable person would see the doctor if they are coughing up blood. In this situation, the statute of limitations may start to run when the person had these other concerning symptoms.

If you have any concerns that a doctor might have committed medical malpractice, the best course of action is to schedule a free consultation with a Florida medical malpractice attorney. Your lawyer can evaluate the facts of your case, advise you of your rights, and help you pursue a lawsuit.