New York’s Statute of Limitations for Medical Malpractice Claims

Any time you wish to file a personal injury claim, you must be sure your case falls within the statute of limitations. These limitations vary from state to state, and so it’s important to consult your attorney to make sure you’re eligible to file a claim.

For medical malpractice in New York, you have two-and-a-half years to file your lawsuit, starting from the day you were injured due to the alleged incident of malpractice committed by a healthcare professional.

Some special rules

While the general medical malpractice statute of limitations is two-and-a-half years, there are some rules that govern special types of malpractice or certain circumstances.

If the malpractice occurred as a part of ongoing treatment, the clock on your statute of limitations does not start ticking until that course of treatment has concluded. In addition, if the case involved a foreign object being left inside the body, the rule is that you have one year from the date of the discovery of the object, or the date of discovery of facts relating to the malpractice that would have led a reasonable person to discover the error (whichever is earlier).

What happens if I don’t meet the statute of limitations?

If you fail to file your claim within the statute of limitations, there is nothing to stop the court from throwing out your case. Even if the court does not summarily dismiss the case itself, it would be a simple argument for the defendant to seek an immediate case dismissal.

To that end, it’s important to act as quickly as possible when you become aware that medical malpractice took place. For more information and guidance, consult a dedicated personal injury attorney with Jakubowski, Robertson, Goldsmith, Maffei & Tartaglia, LLP.