Officials: Cuomo could sign bill on cancer suit deadline this week

A bill extending the time cancer patients have to file malpractice lawsuits could be signed into law by the end of the week, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s representatives said Sunday.

Cuomo announced Sunday he had reached an agreement with state Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan (R-East Northport) and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) on amendments to the proposed law, which would give patients up to seven years to sue after a misdiagnosis.

Current law limits the filing of lawsuits to within between 15 months and 2 ½ years of a misdiagnosis in a public or private hospital respectively.

The bill, known as Lavern’s Law, would extend the statute of limitations to 2 ½ years from the date a patient learned of a misdiagnosis, or seven years from the date of the misdiagnosis, Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said.

The bill is named for Brooklyn resident Lavern Wilkinson, who died of lung cancer at age 41. Wilkinson learned of a misdiagnosis after the statute of limitations had expired.

“No one should have to go through what Lavern Wilkinson and her family did, and this agreement will help protect cancer patients and their loved ones, while also addressing concerns from the medical field,” Cuomo said in a statement.

Both the state Assembly and Senate passed the bill in 2017. State officials then began negotiations after the medical industry expressed concerns about the “inequity” in the law, Azzopardi said.

Changes to the bill include clarifications that it applies solely to cancer diagnoses and that active cases would not be excluded from the benefits, an official said. Patients who were barred by the statute of limitations during the last 10 months of bill negotiations would have six months to file lawsuits.

The State Legislature is expected to consider the amendments this week, Azzopardi said.

By Rachelle Blidner

rachelle.blidner@newsday.com@rachelleblidner

Rachelle Blidner covers Suffolk County government, politics and breaking news.