Date of Discovery Rule - Jeff Korek

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One of the things that needs to be changed here in New York is that we do not have a Discovery Rule, Date of Discovery Rule.

Many people say what’s the Date of Discovery Rule? Date of Discovery Rule means if you’re a woman – because it typically affects women – and you go for a mammogram or you go for a pap smear and you find out more than 2 and a half years later; so let’s say 3 years later you find out that your mammogram was read wrong and you actually do have breast cancer and the reason is because it was not adequately picked up 3 years early.

You’re out of luck. Our law in New York does not allow you to bring a case because you have not met the requirements of statute of the limitations. You have 2 and a half years to bring a case no ifs, ands or buts, no excuses. That law has got to be changed.


Similarly for pap smears, again affecting women, and similarly for people who find out men and women that they’ve been misdiagnosed typically involving cancer more than 2 and a half years ago. There’s just nothing that can be done to allow you to bring such a case. And that’s unfortunate, it’s wrong and the law needs to be changed.

Good people often don’t find out that a mistake was made for more than 2 and a half years. If you want to be fair about it, let the statute grant from the time the person knew or should have known when the mistake occurred and then give them a short time period of a year or 2 years or something like that like most of the other States that have Date of Discovery Rules. Law in New York has got to be changed.

If you or a loved one has been injured due to negligence please call 800 529 9997 or visit lawyertime.com, put the team at Gersowitz Libo & Korek to work for you.