Proposed NY Medical Malpractice Law Fails To Reach Senate Floor

A proposed New York medical malpractice law failed to reach the Senate floor before the end of the legislative session. The proposed medical malpractice law would have doubled the deadline for filing claims against doctors working in the state’s public hospitals. The current deadline is 15 months after the date in which the malpractice occurred. The new law would have pushed the deadline to 30 months from the date that the misdiagnosis was discovered.

Curable Cancer Death Prompts Medical Malpractice Law

Supporters of the medical malpractice law reform nicknamed the measure “Lavern’s Law,” after the late Lavern Wilkinson. Ms. Wilkinson visited Kings County Hospital in 2010 after reporting problems with her breathing. Doctors reportedly found a spot on her lungs in her chest X-rays, but failed to diagnose her with a treatable form of lung cancer. A visit to another hospital in 2012 revealed that her cancer had spread to her brain and spine, but the deadline for filing a claim outlined by the state’s medical malpractice law had already passed. She passed away in 2013 at the age of 41.

Senate Leader Stalls Medical Malpractice Law Vote

The proposed medical malpractice law reform passed the State Assembly, the legislature’s lower house, by an overwhelming 120-25 margin. The bill had reportedly gained support by senators of both parties. Senator Thomas Libous sponsored the bill when it reached the Senate. Sen. Libous had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2009. As the Senate Majority Leader, Senator John Flanagan controlled the agenda and had the power to bring the medical malpractice law to the Senate floor, but did not do so before the legislative session expired.

Mayor, Governor Supports Medical Malpractice Law Reform

Other state government leaders spoke out in support of the medical malpractice law reform measure. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told the city’s newspapers that he hoped the measure would pass. A spokesperson for Governor Andrew Cuomo said that the governor would have signed the measure into medical malpractice law if it had passed the Senate and reached his desk.

Senators Claim Medical Malpractice Law Would Raise Rates

Many of the bill’s supporters voiced the opinion that the reason that Sen. Flanagan failed to bring the medical malpractice law to the floor was that he sought to avoid his party’s reaction to the measure. They claimed that Republican senators feared that the medical malpractice law would raise medical malpractice insurance rates for the state’s physicians. Michael Levine, president of the New York state Trial Lawyers Association, told reporters that the bill enjoyed “strong bipartisan support” and that “a majority of senators would have voted” for the measure if it had been brought to the floor.

Source: New York Legislative Gazette

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