Legal Question in Federal Tort Claims in Texas

Re: statute of limitations

Minors have until 2 years after they reach majority.

Limitations statutes generally start the time running from the point at which the malpractice was or should have been discovered. There are various reasons the statute may be extended for a short time such as hospitalization, military service, etc. Check with a personal injury lawyer in your area.

Re: statute of limitations

From the date that this question was posted, this answer will be academic for the poster, but perhaps helpful to others who may be looking for the correct answer and using this website as a source for legal research.

I have to disagree with attorney Aspinwall's answer to this question, at least in part.

A medical malpractice action for injuries due to medical care at a military hospital would be governed by the two-year statute of limitations provided in the Federal Tort Claims Act (specifically Title 28 U.S. Code, Section 2401 (b)).

The U. S. Supreme Court has made a limited exception in the case of medical malpractice actions, allowing the victim two years from the date that the patient discovered his or her injury (to take into account medical instruments negligently left in a patient during surgery, for instance).

Once the patient knows there is something wrong about his/her treatment or result, however, the statute of limitations clock starts running and he/she must investigate to determine whether the bad result was caused by medical negligence. (This is different than California law, for instance, which tolls the med mal statute of limitations until the patient discovers the injury and that it was caused by negligence.)

Also, the FTCA does not provide any tolling period for minors or incompetents. The federal courts usually require the parents or legal guardians of minors or incompetents to take action to file a claim within the two-year limitations period on the minor's or incompetent's behalf. So in that respect the FTCA is different (and much harsher)than most State laws that do provide a tolling period for minors during the term of their minority.