(845) 818-0668While the seriousness of a cancer diagnosis is well known to most Americans, recent advances in medical knowledge and technology have allowed cancer patients to beat the previous odds and living longer lives. However, if a physician nonetheless fails to diagnose cancer or to provide effective treatment, patients could lose valuable time and suffer serious—or potentially even fatal—damage.
In these circumstances, a compassionate Kingston cancer malpractice lawyer could review your case and help build your injury claim. If you or a loved one were injured by a medical professional’s failure to treat your condition, a well-practiced medical malpractice attorney could help.
How Does Cancer Malpractice Happen in Kingston?
There are many actions and inactions that a physician could commit that would constitute cancer malpractice. Situations that may give rise to a cancer malpractice claim include:
- Misdiagnosing cancer
- Failure to diagnose cancer
- Negligently prescribing the wrong treatment
- Overprescribing a treatment
Cancer malpractice can lead to tremendous physical and emotional suffering or even premature death for patients. Given the severity of these possible consequences, consulting with a Kingston cancer malpractice attorney could be of critical importance if a healthcare provider is negligent in any of these ways.
Conditions to File a Cancer Malpractice Lawsuit in Kingston
The success of a cancer malpractice lawsuit is dependent on filing the case within the specified deadline, supplying a certificate of merit, and several other factors. Not meeting these conditions could be detrimental to a malpractice case before it even gets started. By hiring a cancer malpractice lawyer in Kingston, plaintiffs could ensure that their legal rights are secure.
Filing Deadline
Under New York Civil Practice Law & Rules § 214-a, potential cancer malpractice plaintiffs must file their lawsuit within two years and six months of the date of their injury. They could alternatively file within two years and six months of the date that they discovered—or reasonably should have discovered—their injury. If this deadline passes without the filing of their legal claim, there is a high probability that a plaintiff would lose their right to seek compensation.
What is Required in a Certificate of Merit for Cancer Malpractice?
In conjunction with filing a case within the statute of limitations, NY CPLR §3012-a requires that plaintiffs or their legal counsel file a certificate of merit for their cancer malpractice case. The certificate must attest to one of two statements:
- The attorney met with a minimum of one licensed medical professional to discuss the details of the cancer malpractice case, and the professional agrees that the case has merit
- The attorney attempted in good faith to meet with three different licensed medical professionals to discuss the merit of the case and was unable to do so
The law requires that the attorney files the certificate at the same time as the legal complaint. If doing so would prevent the attorney from filing the case within the statute of limitations, the law grants a 90-day extension to file the certificate of merit.
Call a Kingston Cancer Malpractice Attorney
While doctors should ideally be both competent and caring, medical professionals still sometimes behave negligently and make grave mistakes. If you have suffered from a doctor’s inability to diagnose or treat cancer properly, you deserve compensation for your damages. To learn more about how a Kingston cancer malpractice lawyer could help you get your case started, call today for a consultation.