Arbitration of damages in medical, dental or podiatric malpractice actions
§ 3045. Arbitration of damages in medical, dental or podiatric malpractice actions. (a) At any time after service of a bill of particulars but no later than sixty days after filing of the notice of dental, medical or podiatric malpractice action pursuant to rule thirty-four hundred six of this chapter, any defendant in such an action may demand that the plaintiff elect whether to consent to the arbitration of damages upon a concession of liability in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(b) Within twenty days after receipt of such a demand, the plaintiff shall elect whether to arbitrate damages in such an action pursuant to such a concession of liability by the defendant or defendants in the action. If the defendant or defendants serve a concession of liability upon the plaintiff within twenty days after receipt of such an election, the issue of damages, including the proximate cause thereof, shall be subject to arbitration in accordance with the provisions of article seventy-five-A of this chapter. A concession of liability, made pursuant to this section, shall not be binding on the defendant for any other purpose.
(a) After a bill of particulars is served (but no later than 60 days after filing the malpractice-action notice per Rule 3406), a defendant may demand the plaintiff elect whether to arbitrate damages upon a concession of liability.★
(b) The plaintiff elects within 20 days; if the defendant then serves a concession of liability within 20 days, damages (including proximate cause) go to arbitration under Article 75-A. The concession isn't binding for any other purpose.
★ Exam hits:
Answer/reply is served within 20 days; 30 days when not personally delivered in-state (§ 3012). Demand for complaint → complaint within 20 days.
Amend once without leave within 20 days; otherwise leave "shall be freely given" (§ 3025). Motion to correct within 20 days (§ 3024).
Pleadings are liberally construed; defects ignored unless a substantial right is prejudiced (§ 3026). Fraud/mistake must be pleaded in detail (§ 3016(b)).
Personal-injury complaints do NOT state a dollar amount; defendant may get a supplemental demand within 15 days (§ 3017(c)).
Verified pleading → every later pleading verified; defective verification = treated as unverified, and the recipient may treat it as a nullity only with due-diligence notice (§§ 3020, 3022).
Bill of particulars: respond within 30 days (§ 3042); PI supplemental bill ≥30 days before trial with no new injury (§ 3043); a negligence bill must always be verified (§ 3044).
Certificates of merit: malpractice (§ 3012-a) and residential foreclosure (§ 3012-b); malpractice consultation can be deferred 90 days if the SOL is about to run.
Simplified procedure (§§ 3031–3037) waives jury trial; appeal only from a judgment.
Verbatim statute: CPLR - Article 30
Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.
In print
This provision appears in Volume 2 — The JG-22 CPLR and in Volume 1 — The JG-22 in Plain English.