I had a car accident in 2012 where I recieved some serious injuries. After my recovery I have several bad scars on my arms and one large scar on my face Rather than stiching them up, they just put bandages on them and did not clean them very often as I was bed ridden on the recovery floor. I am happy to be alive but now that I am only 27, these scars make me terribly self concious and I have no feeling in the center of the scars. After consulting a plastic surgeon, she stated that had the trauma floor taken a few hours after the accident to properly stitch closed the scars, the damage would be almost non visible and very minimal. Years later I still cannot bring myself to wear sleeveless tops and I see it as a deformity. I am happy to be alive but I would really love to feel like me again
It's possible you may have a case for medical malpractice if the hospital did not properly treat your injuries. However, the statute of limitations for medical malpractice is 2 years 6 months and depending on when the treatment was, the statute of limitations may have already passed, meaning that you would not be able to start a law suit. You should consult with a personal injury lawyer/medical malpractice attorney so they can analyze the specific facts of your case, and let you know whether or not you have a viable case. Good luck.
In general the NY statute of limitations for a medical malpractice claim is 2.5 years. However, you should be including a claim for disfiguring scars in your personal injury case from the car accident. All medical claims should go through No Fault, if still open. Consult with a personal injury attorney asap.
More details would be needed to adequately answer your question as you may have rights beyond the "practice area" of medical malpractice. For example, what was the date of accident (DOA) in 2012? You typically have 3 yrs from the DOA in NY to start a lawsuit against whoever may have caused this car accident by their negligence. Were you a driver, passenger, or pedestrian, etc...? Typically the vehicle which you occupied would also provide No-Fault benefits which would cover your economic losses including medical bills for scar revision. I strongly recommend that you speak with an experienced personal injury attorney immediately to protect your rights and help you get those scars repaired.
Christian K. Lassen IIPersonal Injury LawyerPhiladelphia, PA ·
You likely have a statute of limitations hurdle, but have a local malpractice lawyer investigate. has a great "find a lawyer" tool to locate a local lawyer.
