The Continuous Treatment Rule (also known as the Continuous Treatment Doctrine) is a New York–specific exception to the statute of limitations in medical malpractice cases. Under this rule, the time limit for filing a lawsuit is paused, or tolled, while a patient continues to receive ongoing treatment from the same healthcare provider for the same condition or injury that is the subject of the alleged malpractice.
Normally, New York law requires medical malpractice claims to be filed within two and a half years under CPLR § 214-a, but the Continuous Treatment Rule extends this deadline until the treatment relationship ends. The doctrine recognizes that patients should not be forced to sue their doctors while still under their care for the same medical issue, as doing so would disrupt the physician–patient relationship and potentially compromise ongoing treatment.
The rule is applied narrowly by New York courts. To toll the statute of limitations under the Continuous Treatment Rule, the following elements generally must be present:
The treatment must be continuous rather than sporadic.
The treatment must be directly related to the condition involved in the malpractice claim.
The treatment must be provided by the same physician or an affiliated group of providers working together on the same illness or injury.
Occasional follow-up visits, routine checkups, or treatment for unrelated medical issues do not qualify as continuous treatment for purposes of tolling the statute of limitations.
