Joint Tortfeasors and Prescription under the Medical Malpractice Act

In his latest article for the August/September issue of the Louisiana Bar Journal, Robert David expounded upon a decision from the Louisiana Court of Appeal for the Fourth Circuit ruling on prescription against jointly and solidarily liable tortfeasors under the Louisiana Medical Malpractice Act.

In the case of In re Benoit, 2017-0802 (La. App. 4 Cir. 3/11/18), 244 So. 3d 44, the plaintiff timely filed a request for review with the Division of Administration for injuries she sustained in 2013 as a result of medical malpractice. The plaintiff sought to amend her request by adding two additional defendants on February 9, 2017. The newly-added defendants argued that the plaintiff’s claims against them had prescribed because the three-year prescriptive period under the Medical Malpractice Act had passed. The plaintiff maintained that the ongoing medical review panel proceeding had suspended prescription against all joint and solidary tortfeasors.

To find out whether the Fourth Circuit dismissed the plaintiff’s claims, read more of Mr. David’s article in Recent Developments under the Professional Liability section of the Louisiana Bar Journal.