A question that Cleveland Medical Malpractice attorney Allen Tittle gets a lot is, “When should I file a medical malpractice lawsuit?” or “Do I have a case?”. There are two things he feels you should know upfront.

Important Factors in a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

1. The first thing you need to know is that there is a statute of limitations for any malpractice case. Defined legally, the statute of limitations is “a statute prescribing a period of limitation for the bringing of certain kinds of legal action”. In the state of Ohio, the statute of limitations in a medical malpractice case is one year from the date of the malpractice, one year from the date that you should have discovered the malpractice, or one year from the termination of the physician-patient relationship for the subject area of the malpractice, with some exceptions.
2. The second thing you should know is that each law firm has strict case criteria in order to accept a medical malpractice case. Our firm has our own case criteria:

• Death
• Paralysis
• Loss of a limb
• Brain injury
• Some type of catastrophic injury that resulted in a huge economic loss

These are the main types of injuries that we represent in Cleveland medical malpractice cases. You might be wondering why? The reason that we must have this strict case criteria is because Ohio has tort reform. This means that there are many laws that protect doctors and hospitals and make medical malpractice cases extremely expensive to prosecute. Ohio also has damage caps on specific types of claims. This means that even if we go to trial and get a jury verdict for $1 billion, the judge will still reduce that verdict to $250,000.

Contacting a Cleveland Medical Malpractice Lawyer

When looking to bring a medical malpractice case to action in Cleveland, these are two important factors you should be aware of in advance, as they will directly impact your ability to file a lawsuit. If you have any questions on whether you should pursue a medical malpractice case or when you should file it, our experienced legal team can help. We can discuss the statute of limitations as well as your injuries during a free case strategy session. Give us a call.