Torts – FTCA — medical malpractice — statute of limitations

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U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit

Civil

Torts – FTCA — medical malpractice — statute of limitations

When a person suspects, or a reasonable person would suspect, that her injury was caused by negligent medical care, claims regarding other doctor-related causes of that injury that share a time and place with the injury’s suspected cause also accrue.

“All claims arising from the same surgery, for example, against surgeon, anesthetist, and nurse, would arise together. However, claims that are distinct in time, or distinct in place, or that relate to a different injury do not accrue solely on that basis. This test is consistent with Goodhand and our other prior FTCA cases and maintains limits on claim accrual without undermining the FTCA’s statute of limitations. To stay consistent with Goodhand, though, the differences in time and place may be quite small, as in the time between the Goodhand baby’s birth and the surgical repair of the perineal tear.” Reversed and Remanded.

13-2854 E.Y. v. U.S.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Gettleman, J., Hamilton, J.