What is a statute of limitations?

New York’s statute of limitations for medical, dental, and podiatric malpractice is 2 1/2 years from the date of the malpractice. This is a very short time period, especially for cases involving the failure to diagnose cancer. In many cases, the malpractice is not discovered (because the diagnosis was missed) until after the statute of limitations has run. There are several types of cases where the statute of limitations will be extended (“tolled”), but these are very “fact specific.” Therefore, please contact us as soon as possible if you think you may have been the victim of medical malpractice.