What's happening
This bill extends the time limit to file certain medical malpractice lawsuits if hospitals fail to file incident reports, and creates private rights of action for hospital-acquired infections and medication errors.
Why it matters
Hospitals that fail to file required incident reports lose the benefit of the usual short time limit for being sued for malpractice, making it easier for patients to sue even after the standard statute of limitations has passed. This change increases hospital accountability, particularly when they do not comply with reporting laws that are meant to ensure transparency and patient safety.
Patients and their representatives must now be directly notified whenever a hospital files an incident report about a serious event (such as death, serious injury, or medication error),. as opposed to only reporting to the Department of Health. This empowers patients and families to be aware of possible malpractice and gives them more information to pursue legal or medical recourse.
The bill creates a specific right for patients to sue hospitals for hospital-acquired infections and medication errors, including imposing strict liability on hospitals for medication errors. This means that patients do not have to prove negligence for medication mistakes—just that the error happened and caused injury—potentially making it easier for harmed patients to win compensation and incentivizing hospitals to improve safety protocols.
By extending the ability to sue and making hospitals strictly liable in certain cases, the bill aims to increase transparency, improve hospital safety practices, and ensure that patients have meaningful avenues for redress when harmed by preventable errors. This could have significant impacts on hospital policies, risk management, and potentially on healthcare costs and insurance rates.
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Headline styles
Extend Malpractice Lawsuit Deadlines
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
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History
- Referred to codes
- Referred to codes
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Extend Medical Malpractice Deadlines
In Senate Committee · Judiciary · Sponsor Kevin S. Parker
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6025
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 21, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. TITUS -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules and the public health law, in relation to the time to commence certain malpractice actions
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 214-a of the civil practice law and rules, as amended by chapter 485 of the laws of 1986, is amended to read as follows:
§ 214-a. Action for medical, dental or podiatric malpractice to be commenced within two years and six months; exceptions. (a) An action for medical, dental or podiatric malpractice must be commenced within two years and six months of the act, omission or failure complained of or last treatment where there is continuous treatment for the same illness, injury or condition which gave rise to the said act, omission or failure[; provided, however, that where].
(b) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of this section, an action for medical, dental or podiatric malpractice need not be commenced within two years and six months of the act, omission or failure complained of or last treatment where there is continuous treatment for the same illness, injury or condition which gave rise to the said act, omission or failure, if the defendant is a hospital as defined in subdivision ten of section twenty-eight hundred one of the public health law, and has failed to file an incident report as required by section twenty-eight hundred five-l of such law in connection with the incident that is the subject of the malpractice action. In such case, the action may be commenced within one year of the date of the required filing.
(2) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of this section, an action for medical, dental or podiatric malpractice need not be commenced within two years and six months of the act, omission or failure complained of or last treatment where there is continuous treatment for the same
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02617-01-7
A. 6025 2
illness, injury or condition which gave rise to the said act, omission or failure, where such action is against a hospital as defined in subdivision ten of section twenty-eight hundred one of the public health law, regardless of whether such action is otherwise barred by subdivision (a) of this section against any individual licensed under title eight of the education law, where either such individual or such hospital has failed to file an incident report as required by section twenty-eight hundred five-l of the public health law in connection with the incident that is the subject of the malpractice action. In such case, the action may be commenced within one year of the date of the required filing.
(c) Where the action is based upon the discovery of a foreign object in the body of the patient, the action may be commenced within one year of the date of such discovery or of the date of discovery of facts which would reasonably lead to such discovery, whichever is earlier. For the purpose of this section the term "continuous treatment" shall not include examinations undertaken at the request of the patient for the sole purpose of ascertaining the state of the patient's condition. For the purpose of this section the term "foreign object" shall not include a chemical compound, fixation device or prosthetic aid or device.
§ 2. Subdivisions 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of section 2805-l of the public health law are renumbered subdivisions 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 and a new subdivision 3 is added to read as follows:
3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, copies of any reports submitted to the department under this section shall also simultaneously be submitted to:
(a) the patient or patients who are affected in such a manner as to trigger the reporting requirements as set forth in paragraphs (a) through (g) of subdivision two of this section;
(b) in the event the patient is deceased or incapacitated, such reports shall be submitted with the patient's or estate's legal representative; and
(c) the person, family or otherwise, who has been identified in the hospital's records as the person designated by the patient for notification or consultation in the event of the patient's incapacity or death.
§ 3. The public health law is amended by adding two new sections 2827 and 2828 to read as follows:
§ 2827. Liability of hospitals for infections; private right of action. Any person, who in the course of a treatment, procedure or delivery of health care service, by any hospital as defined in subdivision ten of section twenty-eight hundred one of this article, is subjected to a hospital acquired infection as defined by paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section twenty-eight hundred nineteen of this article, may bring a cause of action for any injuries suffered as a result of such infection, pursuant to the statute of limitations set forth in section two hundred fourteen-a of the civil practice law and rules.
§ 2828. Strict liability for medication errors; private right of action. Every hospital, as defined in subdivision ten of section twenty-eight hundred one of this article, is strictly liable for any injuries suffered to any patient as a result of an error in providing medication to said patient in the course of a treatment, procedure or delivery of health care service.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
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