Orlando Medical Malpractice Lawyers Applaud Decision Protecting Minors
Having handled Florida medical malpractice cases, it is always difficult to have to explain to potential clients that the statute of limitations bars otherwise meritorious claims. This is even more tragic when the claim involves a minor child. Recently, the Ohio Supreme Court rendered a decision which gives parents more time to file medical malpractice lawsuits against doctors for injury to their children. The ruling extends the window in which parents can file lawsuits from one year up to the child's 19th birthday.
The unanimous decision was based on claims brought by the parents of 17-year-old Tara Fehrenbach of Loveland. Tara suffered permanent injuries as a result of bacterial meningitis that she contracted as an infant in 1990. The meningitis was not diagnosed timely and led to severe brain damage. Of course, as you would expect, Tara’s parents were all consumed with the medical needs of their daughter and they did not think about potential medical malpractice claims.
Tara's parents eventually filed a lawsuit on behalf of their daughter and themselves in 1997 against her pediatrician, and the pediatric group. They claimed negligence because the defendants failed to diagnose and treat the meningitis that led to Tara's health problems. However, due to Ohio’s very short statute of limitations, the Fehrenbachs' case was dismissed as being time-barred. Now this draconian result has been remedied.
While Florida and most states often talk about putting children’s interests first, it seems that in reality, too little is done. Here, the Ohio state supreme court has advanced the interest of child victims of medical malpractice and should be applauded.
