Medical Malpractice Laws in New York (2026): Deadlines

New York stands out among the states because it has no statutory cap on medical malpractice damages, but it pairs that with one of the shorter deadlines in the country. A patient generally has two years and six months to sue under CPLR 214-a, a claim against a public hospital runs on a much shorter municipal clock, the 2018 reform known as Lavern's Law added a discovery rule for missed-cancer cases, and the complaint must usually be filed with a certificate of merit under CPLR 3012-a.

This page is general legal information, not legal advice, and it is part of our Medical Malpractice Laws by State series. The deadlines and the pre-filing steps depend on the facts, so confirm your situation with a licensed New York attorney.

What counts as medical malpractice in New York?

Medical malpractice in New York is a departure from accepted standards of medical practice that causes injury to a patient. The patient must prove that a physician, dentist, podiatrist, nurse, hospital, or other provider failed to act as a reasonably prudent provider would under the circumstances and that the failure caused the harm. A bad outcome alone is not malpractice; the claim turns on whether the care deviated from accepted standards and whether that deviation caused the injury.

The deadline to sue in New York

Under CPLR 214-a, an action for medical, dental, or podiatric malpractice must be commenced within two years and six months of the act, omission, or failure complained of, or of the last treatment where there is continuous treatment for the same illness, injury, or condition. The continuous-treatment doctrine can extend the clock when a provider keeps treating the patient for the same problem, but routine return visits that merely check on a condition generally do not count. Two and a half years is shorter than the typical three years many states allow, so the calendar moves quickly. That figure also assumes a private provider; a claim arising from care at a public hospital runs on the far shorter municipal schedule described below.

Lavern's Law: the discovery rule for cancer

New York historically had a narrow approach to delayed discovery, which produced harsh results in missed-cancer cases. The 2018 reform known as Lavern's Law, named for Lavern Wilkinson, changed CPLR 214-a for one specific situation. In an action based on the negligent failure to diagnose cancer or a malignant tumor, the claim may be commenced within two years and six months of the later of when the person knew or reasonably should have known of the negligent act and that it caused injury, or the last date of continuous treatment for that condition.

There is an outer limit. Even under the discovery rule, a Lavern's Law cancer claim must be commenced no later than seven years from the negligent act or omission. This discovery rule applies only to the failure to diagnose cancer or a malignant tumor; it does not extend the deadline for other kinds of missed diagnoses, which remain governed by the standard 2.5-year rule.

Foreign objects and other timing rules

New York has a separate rule for foreign objects. Where a foreign object is left in the patient's body, the action may be commenced within one year of the date the object is discovered or of the date facts are discovered that would reasonably lead to its discovery, whichever is earlier. The statute excludes from this rule items such as a chemical compound, a fixation device, or a prosthetic aid or device. For patients who were minors or under a legal disability, separate tolling provisions can extend the time, so the precise deadline should be confirmed for the individual case.

Claims against a public hospital run on a much shorter clock

The 2.5-year figure assumes a private defendant. Where the care was provided by a municipal hospital or another public corporation, a separate and much shorter set of rules controls. General Municipal Law 50-e requires that a notice of claim be served "within ninety days after the claim arises," adding that "in wrongful death actions, the ninety days shall run from the appointment of a representative of the decedent's estate." General Municipal Law 50-i then provides that, for claims against a city, county, town, village, fire district, or school district, "the action or special proceeding shall be commenced within one year and ninety days after the happening of the event upon which the claim is based."

The same structure governs the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, which operates the city's public hospitals. Its enabling act requires a notice of intention to commence the action to be filed with a director or officer of the corporation "within ninety days after such cause of action shall have accrued," and provides that an action "shall not be commenced more than one year and ninety days after the cause of action thereof shall have accrued." A patient who relies on the 2.5-year figure after treatment at a public facility can lose the claim on day 91, so establish who owned and operated the hospital before calculating any deadline.

Damage caps in New York: there are none

This is the defining feature of New York malpractice law. New York does not cap medical malpractice damages. There is no statutory limit on economic damages such as medical expenses and lost earnings, and there is no statutory limit on non-economic damages such as pain and suffering. New York is one of a minority of states that has never enacted an enforceable cap on malpractice recoveries, so the value of a claim is set by the evidence and the trier of fact rather than by a legislative ceiling.

One New York statute does set a ceiling, but it applies to the lawyer's fee rather than to the recovery. Judiciary Law 474-a fixes a descending sliding scale for the plaintiff's attorney in a medical, dental, or podiatric malpractice action: 30 percent of the first $250,000 of the sum recovered, 25 percent of the next $250,000, 20 percent of the next $500,000, 15 percent of the next $250,000, and 10 percent of any amount over $1,250,000. Those percentages are computed on the net sum recovered, after deducting expenses and disbursements for expert testimony and investigative or other services properly chargeable to the claim.

Watch out: Because New York has no cap, some out-of-state summaries that assume every state limits non-economic damages are simply wrong for New York. Confirm any figure against the New York rules rather than a generic national chart.

The certificate of merit under CPLR 3012-a

New York requires an early reality check on malpractice claims. Under CPLR 3012-a, a complaint in a medical, dental, or podiatric malpractice action must generally be accompanied by a certificate, signed by the plaintiff's attorney, declaring that the attorney has reviewed the case and consulted with at least one licensed physician (or the corresponding dentist or podiatrist) whom the attorney reasonably believes is knowledgeable in the relevant issues, and that the attorney concluded there is a reasonable basis for the action. If the limitations period is about to expire, the attorney may file first and serve the certificate within 90 days. The statute also provides limited exceptions, such as where the attorney could not obtain a consultation after reasonable efforts.

Who can be liable and the expert requirement

New York malpractice claims can target individual clinicians and the institutions responsible for care, including physicians, nurses, hospitals, and clinics, and hospitals can be liable for their own negligence and for that of their employees. To prove a claim, the plaintiff generally must present qualified expert testimony establishing the accepted standard of care and showing that the provider's departure caused the injury, because these questions are outside the ordinary knowledge of a jury. The same kind of expert review underlies the certificate of merit, so qualified medical review is needed early.

Comparative negligence in New York

New York follows pure comparative negligence. A plaintiff's damages are reduced in proportion to the plaintiff's own share of fault, but the plaintiff is not barred from recovering even if mostly at fault. In a malpractice case, this most often arises when a defendant argues the patient contributed to the harm, though the central disputes usually remain the standard of care and causation.

Wrongful-death medical malpractice in New York

When malpractice causes death, the claim proceeds as a wrongful-death action brought by the personal representative of the estate, and New York generally allows two years from the date of death to bring that claim. That two-year figure again assumes a private defendant: where the death followed care at a public hospital, General Municipal Law 50-e requires a notice of claim with the ninety days running from the appointment of the estate's representative, and the action must be commenced within one year and ninety days. Because the wrongful-death deadline and the categories of recoverable damages differ from a personal-injury malpractice claim, and because a related survival claim may also exist, identifying the correct framework and the right claimant early is important.

How to evaluate and preserve a possible claim

While every situation is different and this is general information rather than legal advice, people who suspect malpractice in New York often begin by gathering complete medical records and noting key dates, because the 2.5-year clock under CPLR 214-a moves faster than in many states, and the municipal clock for a public hospital is faster still. Because CPLR 3012-a requires an attorney to consult a qualified physician before filing, an attorney typically arranges expert review early, and that review also helps assess a possible Lavern's Law cancer claim. Malpractice cases are commonly handled on a contingency-fee basis, and Judiciary Law 474-a caps that fee on a descending sliding scale, so the percentage falls as the recovery rises. Consulting a licensed New York attorney early helps protect the deadline, though no attorney can promise a particular outcome or dollar amount.