It depends - but you may still have a claim, and the deadline may be very close or already different depending on who caused the error.

In New York, claims against a doctor or hospital usually must be started within 2 years and 6 months of the malpractice, or from the end of continuous treatment for the same condition. A claim against a pharmacy is often treated as ordinary negligence, which can carry a 3-year deadline. If a summer locum tenens doctor in Brooklyn prescribed the wrong drug without reviewing the chart, the doctor, the hospital, or both may be involved.

In the next 24 hours: Get every record you can request right now: hospital chart, medication administration records, prescription printouts, pharmacy logs, discharge papers, and Medicare statements. Ask for records from the prescribing doctor, the dispensing pharmacy, and the Brooklyn hospital separately. Write down the exact dates, drug names, dose changes, and when symptoms started.

In the next week: Sort out who made which mistake. Did the doctor prescribe the wrong medication? Did the pharmacy fill it wrong? Did the hospital give the wrong dose? In New York, different defendants can mean different deadlines and different legal theories. If the error caused a delayed diagnosis or reduced your chance of a better recovery, New York recognizes loss of chance claims. File complaints if needed with the New York State Department of Health for hospitals and the Office of Professional Medical Conduct for physicians.

In the next month: Have the records reviewed before the filing window closes. New York malpractice cases need a certificate of merit when filed, so records matter immediately. If Medicare paid for treatment tied to the medication error, expect a Medicare lien claim from CMS against any settlement, but that does not erase the case. New York also has no cap on non-economic damages, so pain, loss of independence, and reduced quality of life can be significant parts of the claim.