Medical mistakes can lead to serious and long-term injuries for patients. If you or a loved one has been hurt due to a medical error, you should contact a skilled Rochester medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, we can thoroughly examine the facts of your case and determine whether you may be eligible for compensation. While no amount of money can undo the pain and stress of a medical injury, the money can help cover the bills that often pile up after such an incident. Time is of the essence in these cases, so it is important to act quickly.
Injured patients can hold negligent or reckless medical providers accountable through a medical malpractice claim. Each state has a specific deadline for filing medical malpractice claims, known as the statute of limitations, and New York is no exception. Failing to file your lawsuit in civil court within the appropriate time frame could mean losing your right to compensation altogether. In other words, if you do not file your medical malpractice case within the statute of limitations, you will be barred from filing a claim and pursuing damages.
Patients injured by medical malpractice in New York have two years and six months after the alleged malpractice to file a lawsuit in civil court. This is the general statute of limitations in New York, although there may be limited exceptions that apply in your case.
The Continuous Treatment Doctrine
Under this doctrine, if the medical professional’s mistake took place as part of an “ongoing course of treatment,” the clock does not begin to run until the course of treatment is complete. Put another way, if the medical professional continued to treat his or her patient for the same condition for a period of time, the statute of limitations will be measured from the time the treatment was completed. This gives patients time to investigate the level of care and determine what happened when contemplating whether or not to file a lawsuit.
The Discovery Rule
This rule is a limited exception to the general statute of limitations in New York. It applies in situations in which the victim could not reasonably have learned that he or she had a viable medical malpractice claim. In New York, the rule applies in situations in which a patient is injured because a foreign object was left inside the body. In such cases, the medical malpractice claim may be filed within one year of the date the object was found or should have been found, whichever comes first.
Statute of Limitations for Minor Children
Under New York law, the statute of limitations for minor children in medical malpractice cases does not begin to run until the child’s 18th birthday. There is one exception to this rule. Irrespective of the minor’s age at the time of the malpractice, the statute of limitations cannot be extended in excess of 10 years after the malpractice took place or after a foreign object was discovered or reasonably should have been discovered.
If you or someone close to you has been injured by a medical professional’s negligence, we can help. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our diligent and hard-working Rochester medical malpractice attorneys can thoroughly examine your case to make sure we are protecting all of your rights. We keep a close eye on legal developments to make sure you don’t miss your window to take legal action. For more information, feel free to call us at 833-200-2000 or contact us online.
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