Russell v. Stanford University Hospital

Opinion

MOSK, J.

In this matter we address apparently conflicting provisions in the Code of Civil Procedure, as amended by the 1975 Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (hereafter MICRA), concerning the statute of limitations for bringing professional negligence actions against health care providers. Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5 requires that such an action must be commenced within “three years after the date of injury or one year after the plaintiff discovers, or through the use of reasonable diligence should have discovered, the injury, whichever occurs first,” and provides that…