One of the most difficult concepts in medical lawsuits such as those surrounding the medicine Reglan is that the statute of limitations — a concept that says cases must be filed within a certain window of time or be dismissed for being too old — still applies as it does in criminal cases.
Further compounding the issue is that these statutes vary from area to area, and from state to state. There is no national standard for the statute of limitations. The limitations can vary based on the type of damage done, such as the difference between property damage or personal damage.
What makes the issue especially difficult in the Reglan lawsuits specifically is the fact that the damage associated, the condition Tardive Dyskinesia, is a delayed-onset condition. It doesn’t start immediately when taking the medicine, often taking weeks to manifest. This means that the issue of when the statute of limitations begins is anything but clear.
Some jurisdictions have ruled that the statute of limitations began when the FDA made the first announcements that Reglan was associated with a risk of Tardive Dyskinesia. Other cases have stressed the lack of clear knowledge that some patients have as to why they developed the conditions they’re dealing with. Many do not know that their prescription of Reglan is related to the sudden twitches and jerks their extremities are making. To this end, some jurisdictions have defined the statute as beginning when the patient first is informed of the potential association between the medicine and the condition.
It’s hard to give precise information about these time limits, because as said they vary from state to state. If you have taken Reglan and subsequently developed the condition of Tardive Dyskinesia, get in touch with officials as soon as possible to see what the relevant information about the statute of limitations is.
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