In Ohio, a person injured by the negligence of a medical, dental, optometric, or chiropractic provider can sue on the basis of medical malpractice. To bring a claim, the plaintiff must file within one year after discovering the injury. Under the statute of repose, no plaintiff, excluding minors or those of diminished mental capacity, can bring a claim more than four years after the injury.
2305.113 Medical malpractice actions.
Statute of Limitations
In Ohio, an individual injured due to medical negligence may bring claim against a medical, dental, optometric, or chiropractic provider within one year after the cause of action accrued.
Within the one-year statutory period, if the claimant provides written notice to the defendant that the claimant is considering bringing an action, that action may be commenced against the person notified at any time within 180 days after the notice is so given.
Statute of Repose
Except in cases where the plaintiff is a minor or is of diminished mental capacity, no action upon a medical, dental, optometric, or chiropractic claim shall be commenced more than four years after the occurrence of the act or omission constituting the alleged basis of the medical, dental, optometric, or chiropractic claim.
If an action upon a medical, dental, optometric, or chiropractic claim is not commenced within four years after the occurrence of the act or omission constituting the alleged basis of the medical, dental, optometric, or chiropractic claim, then, any action upon that claim is barred.
Discovery of Injury
If a person making a malpractice claim, in the exercise of reasonable care and diligence, could not have discovered the injury resulting from the act or omission constituting the alleged basis of the claim within three years after the occurrence of the act or omission, but, in the exercise of reasonable care and diligence, discovers the injury resulting from that act or omission before the expiration of the specified four-year period, the person may commence an action upon the claim not later than one year after the person discovers the injury resulting from that act or omission.
If the alleged basis of the claim is the occurrence of an act or omission that involves a foreign object that is left in the body of the claimant, the injured person may commence an action upon the claim not later than one year after the person discovered the foreign object or not later than one year after the person, with reasonable care and diligence, should have discovered the foreign object.
A claimant has the affirmative burden of proving, by clear and convincing evidence, that even with reasonable care and diligence, he or she could not have discovered the injury resulting from the act or omission constituting the alleged basis of the claim within the aforementioned three-year period or within the aforementioned one-year period.
Find an Attorney
If you were injured by medical malpractice in Ohio, you may have a cause of action against the negligent doctor or other medical provider. You must file within the statutory time period or risk losing your cause of action. However, Ohio's laws provide a statutory dispensation where with reasonable care and diligence, the injury could not have been discovered within the statutory time. Talk with an experienced medical malpractice attorney in Ohio to discuss the issues of your case.
