What is the “Discovery Rule” and how is it applied in medical negligence cases. The discovery rule was evolved by the courts in the United States because it was found that the claim lodged by the complainants in cases involving acts of medical negligence were getting defeated by strict adherence to the statutes of information. In Pennsylvania, the discovery rule was adopted in Ayers v Morgan . In that case, a surgeon had left a sponge in the patient’s body when he performed an operation. It was held that the statute of limitation did not begin to run until years later when the presence of the sponge in the patient’s body was discovered. In West Virginia, the discovery rule was applied in Morgan v Grace Hospital Inc. In that case, a piece of sponge had been left in the wound during a surgical operation but its presence in the body did not come to light until 10 years later. The court rejected the objection ...
