(845) 303-1000While most Americans recognize the seriousness of a cancer diagnosis, advances in medical knowledge and technology have improved survival rates. However, when a physician fails to diagnose cancer or provide effective treatment, patients lose critical time and face serious, potentially fatal consequences.
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 a physician could commit that would constitute malpractice, including:
- 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
The success of a cancer malpractice lawsuit depends 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 when they discovered or should have discovered their injury. If they miss this deadline, they will likely 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 consulted at least one licensed medical professional, who agreed the cancer malpractice case has merit
- The attorney made a good-faith effort to consult three licensed medical professionals but was unsuccessful
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.