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HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO FILE A MALPRACTICE LAWSUIT IN QUEENS?
March 2024
In most cases, you have 30 months, or 2 and a half years from the date of malpractice to file a lawsuit. This deadline can be extended under certain, specific circumstances, but the general rule of thumb is 30 months from the date of malpractice is the latest you can start the lawsuit. This deadline applies to the privately operated hospitals in Queens, such as Long Island Jewish, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, New York Presbyterian-Queens Flushing Hospital Medical Center, Mount Sinai Queens, or any privately owned and operated medical clinic or doctor's office.
If the medical facility/office is owned and operated by a governmental entity, such as a city, county or the state, the time to file the lawsuit is dramatically shorter. For instance, in Queens, if you received substandard medical treatment at Elmhurst Hospital or Queens Hospital Center, a claim against those hospitals, owned and operated by the City of New York, requires written notice of the claim within 90 days of the occurrence, and a lawsuit must be filed within 1 year and 90 days of the occurrence.
There are specific rules about where and how these claims are filed and what information is necessary, including but not limited which hospital or medical professional you believe caused you damage, when and how the malpractice occurred and the nature and extent of your injuries. The notice of claim is required by law so that government owned and operated facilities have some notice about a potential claim or lawsuit.
If you are attempting to file this document on your own, you must familiarize yourself with these requirements, as a faulty notice of claim may be grounds for the hospital to make a motion to dismiss your claim entirely. If you are unsure of the procedures and requirements for filing a notice of claim, you can contact us so that we can assist you.
McCann Legal, PC
We give injured people a chance to tell their stories to insurance companies and juries so they can get paid the money they are owed.