There Are Not a Lot of Exceptions
Video Transcribed: What is the statute of limitation for a medical malpractice case in Oklahoma? I’m Oklahoma attorney James Wirth. We’re talking about statutes of limitation, and particularly as it relates to medical negligence, medical malpractice cases.
First off, anytime we’re talking about the statute of limitations, these are hard and fast deadlines. There are generally not a lot of exceptions. If you blow one, you’re done, your case is done, so they are very important. Never take general information online or on a video for that.
You’re going to want to talk to an attorney specifically about your circumstances to find out exactly what the statute of limitations date is and make sure that you do not miss it. However, for the purposes of the video, we can talk generally.
Generally in Oklahoma, for most actions, if we’re talking about an action in negligence, most of the time it is a two-year statute of limitations. If it is an intentional act, most of the time it’s a one-year statute of limitations.
There are exceptions to those, but talking specifically about medical malpractice, medical malpractice case, although it’s a professional negligence case, it’s still just a negligence case. Most of the same rules apply, and that is the same with regard to the statute of limitations. It’s generally a two-year statute of limitations for medical negligence or a medical malpractice case.
However, that can be told potentially by the data discovery. It’s not necessarily only two years from the date that the negligence occurred, it may be under the right circumstances, always be cautious on these, two years from the date that you found out that the medical negligence occurred, or the date by which you should have known that the medical negligence occurred.
That is normally when the statute of limitations is. You need to file a petition with the state court, have it file-stamped a date before that statute of limitations runs. If that statute of limitations runs and then you file, that is going to be barred. The other side can file a motion to dismiss based on a statute of limitations issues, and almost certainly that will be dismissed and out.
Having a good excuse for missing the statute of limitations is not enough. It is generally an absolute bar, so always be careful about those. Talk to an attorney specifically about your circumstances to find out what it is. See if any rules for tolling may apply to you if you need them to. If you do have a claim, talk to an attorney. If you want to talk to somebody in my office, you can go online to get that scheduled. Just go online to makelaweasy.com.
