Craven v. Lowndes County Hospital Authority

Dr. Santos (defendant) misdiagnosed Craven's (plaintiff) mole as benign in 1986; the mole was later found to be malignant in 1991, and Craven sued for malpractice in 1992, more than five years after the original biopsy. Georgia's medical malpractice statute imposed an absolute five-year repose period regardless of when the injury was discovered, and the trial court granted summary judgment for the defendants on that basis; Craven appealed, arguing the statute's distinction between plaintiffs who discover injuries within versus after five years violated equal protection.