Ohio’s medical malpractice laws require patients to file lawsuits within four years of their alleged injuries, the state’s supreme court confirmed this week.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the high court reversed an appeals court ruling and tossed out David Antoon’s lawsuit because it did not fall within that timeframe.
Antoon, a retired Air Force colonel, underwent surgery to remove a cancerous prostate gland at the Cleveland Clinic in 2008. The procedure, he said, was performed by doctors in training, rather than his appointed surgeon, and resulted in impotence and incontinence.
He filed a medical malpractice lawsuit in 2010, only to withdraw it amid the clinic’s alleged “delay tactics and refusal to grant access to records.”
(Image credit: Associated Press)
Antoon filed the case again in 2015. It was dismissed by a Cuyahoga County court because it fell outside the four-year window, but an appeals court said that the lawsuit should move forward because Antoon was aware of his injuries within four years.
The Ohio Supreme Court disagreed and effectively ended Antoon’s lengthy legal odyssey.
The Cleveland Clinic said that it was pleased with the decision and that its doctors did nothing wrong in Antoon’s case. Officials maintained that his subsequent health issues were well-known risks of the 2008 procedure.
Antoon, meanwhile, called the decision “profoundly unfair.” He previously expressed concern that a fundraiser co-hosted by the clinic for two high court justices presented a potential conflict of interest.
“While my legal efforts are now ended, I will continue my work as a patient advocate to help others harmed by the Cleveland Clinic obtain justice,” Antoon said, according to the paper.
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