How To Know Whether You Have A Credible Medical Malpractice Case

A recent study conducted by the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and published in the American Medical Association’s JAMA Internal Medicine claimed that medical malpractice suits are declining.

However, award amounts are climbing. While the news is a welcome relief, it still does not completely eradicate the issue of millions of people experiencing poor treatment at the hands of their trusted medical professionals each year. A more worrying statistic that should be noted is that only 2 percent of patients who experience medical malpractice ever file claims to secure compensation. For many of them, the question of whether they have a formidable medical malpractice case, and the cost of pursuing it with an unknown outcome, weighs heavily in their decisions. If you or a loved one has endured medical malpractice, you do not need to stay silent. Whether it is finding the right malpractice attorney or deciphering whether the incident occurred outside of normal procedure, there are a few things that can help you decide if you have a credible case – and whether to move ahead with legal action.

What Is The Timeline Of The Incident?

Each state has a different statute of limitations for medical, dental, or podiatric malpractice cases. The statute of limitations for New York is two years and six months from the date of the medical malpractice incident or the end of continuous treatment. However, this is also dependent on the kind of injury and the party you are planning to sue. For instance, in a private medical malpractice suit where there was a cancer misdiagnosis, you have two years from the time you were first diagnosed to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. However, malpractice cases involving minors carry an extended timeline of 10 years from the date of the incident.