I was a patient at Todds children hospital in Youngstown Ohio in the youth services unit. (unit was designed for children with mental needs). I was 15 at the time in 1980. I did not smoke before entering. Children's parents would leave there child cigarettes and at times the staff would purchase them for the children. The kids were given smoke breaks several times throughout the day in a area off of the wars but still inside the hospital. As any teen would want, I wanted off the ward with a break also. The staff would ask the other children if I could have one of their cigarettes. The cigarettes were kept by the staff for whatever reason. Other kids, upon being asked by the staff, would allow me to have cigarettes. Well, I became addicted and now at 51 have chronic COPD. Do I have a lawsuit against hospital?
In my opinion, likely "no."
You would have had 1 year from your 18th birthday to file a claim. This would have been -- in effect -- a medical malpractice claim and the 1 year started with the date of discovery. However, Ohio also has a "statue of repose" which limited the statue of limitation to 6 years from the date the malpractice occurred, regardless of the discovery date.
Thus, by the time you turned 24, your claim -- if any -- was likely extinguished by operation of law.
You may wish to consult with a local med-mal attorney to consider your circumstance further.
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