You have the right to sue regardless of whether you were injured in a public or a private facility. However, some of the rules change when state and federal governments are involved. Because governments' rules on how to pursue a medical malpractice claim can be complex and bureaucratic, it's important to make sure you follow them correctly the first time. If you don't, you may lose your access to the courts.
If you were injured by a federal employee or hospital (such as military medical services), you'll sue under the Federal Tort Claims Act. That law gives you two years from the date when you noticed your injury to file an administrative claim. You must use a special federal form for this. The agency has six months to take action or deny the claim. After that time is up, or if the claim is denied, you may file a lawsuit in federal district court. It's important to know that the FTCA does not allow you to sue a federal employee directly, but you may sue the agency over the employee's actions.
If you were injured by a state employee or hospital (including a state university-run hospital), you must also file an administrative claim before you may sue. The time period in which you must file a claim varies by state, but it can be as short as 60 days from the day you discovered the harm. Once the government agency rules on or denies the claim, you may file your lawsuit in state court. From that point, the lawsuit will resemble other cases in most respects.
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