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        所谓诉讼时效，是指请求人民法院保护权利的时间。根据最高人民法院《民事案件案由规定(试行)》的规定，医疗事故的案由有两种，一种是侵权，一种是合同，相应的诉讼实效，按侵权是1年，按合同是两年。

    医疗事故诉讼时效的起始时间是从知道或应该知道损害或医疗服务合同违约开始计算。比如，在医院做手术，五年后发现医院把纱布留在体内了，那么诉讼时效是从发现纱布留在体内开始计算，而不是手术时或住院时开始计算。

    诉讼时效的中断

    诉讼时效的中断有三种情况，1、权力人的请求，在医疗事故中，也就是患方要求医院赔偿，口头或是书面请求都是可以的，为了更好的保护权力，最好是有书面的文件。2、义务人同意履行，医院如果同意赔偿，那么诉讼时效也是可以中断的。3、提起诉讼或仲裁。诉讼时效中断的事由发生后，已经过的时效期间归于无效，中断事由存续期间，时效不进行，中断事由终止时，诉讼时效重新开始计算。为了便于理解，举个例子。还是举上面的例子，2001年2月做的手术，2006年3月发现体内有纱布，2006年7月要求医院赔偿，那么诉讼时效在2006年7月中断，从2006年7月开始，重新计算一年，也就是说倒2007年7月，诉讼时效才结束。需要注意的是，诉讼时效中断没有次数的限制。

    诉讼时效中止

    诉讼时效中止是指在诉讼时效期间的最后6个月内，因法定事由而使权利人不能行使请求权的，诉讼时效期间的计算暂时停止。从中止时效的原因消除之日起，诉讼时效期间继续计算。依诉讼时效的中止，其已经过的期间仍然有效，待阻碍时效进行的法定障碍消除后，时效期间继续进行。发生诉讼时效中止的法定事由：

    (1)不可抗力，指的是不能预见、不能避免并不能克服的客观情况。包括自然灾害和非出于权利人意思的“人祸”，例如瘟疫、暴乱等。

    (2)法定代理人未确定或丧失民事行为能力。最高人民法院《民通意见》第172条规定：在诉讼时效期间的最后6个月内，权利被侵害的无民事行为能力人、限制民事行为能力人没有法定代理人，或者法定代理人死亡、丧失代理权，或者法定代理人本人丧失行为能力的，可以认定为因其他障碍不能行使请求权，适用诉讼时效中止。

    (3)其他。例如继承开始后，继承人或遗产管理人尚未确定时，其时效可中止等等。

    还是举上面的例子，如果说2007年5月，权力人有重要的事情需出国，倒2008年1月才回国，那么回国后，可以向法院申请诉讼时效中指，也就是说诉讼时效在2007年5月终止了，到2008年1月恢复。

    法律规定，从权利被侵害之日起超过20年的，人民法院不予保护。以上面的例子，如果2024年，患者才发现纱布遗留体内，那么起诉到法院，法院是不保护。

    诉讼时效只是可以请求法院保护的时间，其实民事权力是一直存在的，也就是说，即使过了诉讼时效，患者也是可以要求医院赔偿的，只是这种权力不受法院的保护。

The so-called statute of limitations for litigation refers to the time it takes to request the people's court to protect rights. According to the "Provisions on the Causes of Civil Cases (Trial)" of the Supreme People's Court, there are two types of causes of medical accidents: infringement and contract. The corresponding litigation effectiveness is one year for infringement and two years for contract.

The starting time for the statute of limitations for medical malpractice litigation is calculated from the time when one knows or should have known about the damage or breach of medical service contract. For example, if a surgery is performed in a hospital and it is discovered five years later that the hospital has left the gauze inside the body, the statute of limitations for litigation will be calculated from the time the gauze is found to be inside the body, rather than from the time of surgery or hospitalization.

Interruption of statute of limitations for litigation

There are three situations where the statute of limitations for litigation can be interrupted: 1. The request of the right holder. In medical accidents, where the patient requests compensation from the hospital, verbal or written requests are acceptable. In order to better protect rights, it is best to have written documents. 2. The obligor agrees to perform, and if the hospital agrees to compensate, the statute of limitations for litigation can also be interrupted. 3. Initiate litigation or arbitration. After the cause of interruption of the statute of limitations for litigation occurs, the expired statute of limitations shall be deemed invalid. During the existence of the cause of interruption, the statute of limitations shall not continue. When the cause of interruption terminates, the statute of limitations for litigation shall be recalculated. For ease of understanding, give an example. Taking the example above, the surgery was performed in February 2001, and gauze was found in the body in March 2006. In July 2006, the hospital was requested to compensate, so the statute of limitations for litigation was interrupted in July 2006. Starting from July 2006, a new year was calculated, which means that the statute of limitations for litigation only ended in July 2007. It should be noted that there is no limit on the number of times the statute of limitations for litigation can be interrupted.

Suspension of statute of limitations for litigation

Suspension of statute of limitations for litigation refers to the temporary suspension of the calculation of the statute of limitations period if, due to legal reasons, the right holder is unable to exercise the right to claim within the last 6 months of the statute of limitations period. The statute of limitations for litigation shall continue to be counted from the date when the reason for the suspension of statute of limitations is eliminated. According to the suspension of the statute of limitations for litigation, the period that has already passed is still valid. After the legal obstacles hindering the statute of limitations are eliminated, the statute of limitations period will continue. The statutory reasons for the suspension of statute of limitations in litigation:

(1) Force majeure refers to objective circumstances that are unforeseeable, unavoidable, and insurmountable. Including natural disasters and "man-made disasters" that are not intended by rights holders, such as epidemics, riots, etc.

(2) The legal representative has not been determined or has lost civil capacity. Article 172 of the "Opinions of the Supreme People's Court on Civil Communication" stipulates that within the last six months of the statute of limitations for litigation, if a person with no capacity for civil conduct or a person with limited capacity for civil conduct whose rights have been infringed upon does not have a legal representative, or if the legal representative dies or loses the right to act, or if the legal representative himself loses the ability to act, it can be deemed that he is unable to exercise the right to claim due to other obstacles, and the statute of limitations for litigation shall be suspended.

(3) Other. For example, after the start of inheritance, if the heir or estate administrator has not yet been determined, the statute of limitations can be suspended, and so on.

Taking the above example as an example, if the power holder had important matters to go abroad in May 2007 and only returned to China in January 2008, then after returning to China, they can apply to the court for a statute of limitations, which means that the statute of limitations expired in May 2007 and was restored in January 2008.

According to the law, if the right is infringed upon for more than 20 years, the people's court shall not protect it. Using the above example, if a patient only discovers gauze left in their body in 2024, then suing the court will not be protected by the court.

The statute of limitations for litigation is only the time that can be requested for court protection. In fact, civil rights have always existed, which means that even if the statute of limitations has passed, patients can still demand compensation from hospitals, but this right is not protected by the court.