Making a medical negligence claim against a hospital in New York requires that a patient have suffered an undue injury that was caused directly by a lack of care on the part of the hospital staff.
While many cases of medical negligence occur in the United States each year, the liability almost always falls on a single negligent doctor or other medical professional. However, there are cases where the hospital itself can be found liable for patient damages.
There are a few basic New York medical malpractice laws that patients should be aware of when considering bringing a medical negligence claim.
Statue of Limitations
The statute of limitations in a New York medical malpractice case is almost always 30 months, or two and a half years. Exceptions to this rule include cases where the negligence is not discovered until a much later date, such as instances of surgical malpractice where medical devices or other foreign objects are left inside a patients body, causing damage at a much later date.
Cap on Medical Malpractice Awards
Unlike many other states, New York does not place a cap on non-economic damages under tort law, so patients can often get substantial settlement amounts for such damages. Other states place caps, such as Florida’s cap of $750,000.
Patient vs. Doctor Negligence
New York uses a contributory negligence law which states that a claimants award will be reduced proportionally to his or her percentage of liability. This means that if the patient in in part at fault, his or her award will be reduced by that percentage amount.
Hospital Liability
The legal liability of a hospital in a medical malpractice case is completely case dependent, and you will need to have an experienced medical malpractice lawyer examine the details of the case to determine the appropriate party from whom to demand compensation.
Juries generally favor the patient in cases where the hospital is liable, and the awards tend to be much larger, so it’s in a patients best interest to seek the hospital liable. Depending on the nature of the negligent staff members employment (contract vs. full-time or other), liability can fall on a doctor, nurse, the hospital itself or a combination of the three.
Talk to a Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Always seek competent legal advice regarding any type of patient injury caused by medical negligence. This type of law is uniquely complicated, and the money awards are often in the hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars, so the defending hospital will always have competent medical malpractice defense attorneys fighting every claim. Always talk to a medical malpractice lawyer for advice before considering any type of legal action.
