Breast Cancer Cases

Statute of Limitations

By Art Schwarzwaelder

In Pennsylvania, there is a two-year statute of limitations which applies to medical malpractice claims. Generally, in a delayed diagnosis of breast cancer case, the two-year period begin to run on the date when you were first informed that you have breast cancer (as opposed to when the physician’s negligence occurred). However, there maybe exceptions to the application of this rule which are fact specific. The application of the statute of limitations to your case should be individually analyzed to protect your rights, since filing a lawsuit after the statute of limitations has expired will bar all of your potential claims unless one of the limited exceptions applies. For a further discussion of time limits for bringing suit in Pennsylvania, see Statute of Limitations, Statute of Limitations: the Discovery Rule" and Pennsylvania Statute of Repose in medical malpractice actions.

Pennsylvania has other procedural requirements concerning the necessity of filing certificates of merit at or about the time a lawsuit is filed. It is, therefore, in your best interest to act promptly if you believe you have a claim, or have questions about the quality of your care. This is particularly true in the tragic situation where due to a delay in diagnosis, a patient had advanced breast cancer with a poor prognosis. Under these circumstances, it may be necessary to obtain an expedited review of the claim, and to preserve the injured party’s testimony.

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