Oct 13, 2026 · LawyerUnc editorial · New York · Time limits · YMYL

New York medical malpractice is two years and six months

That is CPLR 214-a, not the three-year injury clock. A checkup you booked only to see how you are does not restart it. A city hospital is a shorter clock.

Last checked Oct 13, 2026 · LawyerUnc editorial. Educational only, not legal advice.

A New York medical, dental, or podiatric malpractice suit is two years and six months from the act, omission, or failure. That sentence is CPLR 214-a. The ordinary injury clock, CPLR 214(5), is three years. Do not use the three-year number on a doctor's case.

Continuous treatment can move the start to the last treatment, but only treatment for the same illness, injury, or condition that gave rise to the act. The statute says an examination you undertook only to find out how you are does not count. A later visit for a different problem does not restart the clock on the first one.

A foreign object is its own window: one year from discovery, or from facts that would reasonably lead to discovery, whichever of those two dates is earlier. The statute then says what a foreign object is not. It is not a chemical compound, a fixation device, or a prosthetic aid or device. A plate, a screw, or a hip that was put in on purpose is not a sponge left behind.

A negligent failure to diagnose cancer or a malignant tumor has a discovery rule inside the same statute. You get two years and six months from the later of when you knew or should have known of the failure and that it caused injury, or the last continuous treatment for that condition. The suit still has to be brought no later than seven years from the act. A missed heart condition, an infection, or a nerve injury is not that rule. Those stay on the ordinary two years and six months.

If the defendant is a city, a county, or a hospital those governments run, do not stop at 214-a. General Municipal Law 50-e is usually a notice of claim within 90 days, and 50-i is usually a suit within one year and 90 days. That shorter clock is not extended by calling the case malpractice. This is a map of the statute, not a reading of one chart, and not legal advice. Last checked 13 October 2026 against N.Y. CPLR 214-a and 214(5), and N.Y. General Municipal Law 50-e and 50-i.