In a suit filed by lung-cancer patient Geraldine Ford against her former radiologist, the Appellate Division, First Department tossed out her malpractice and lack-of-informed-consent action., which has medical facts underlying it that in certain respects are similar to those in Lavern Wilkinson’s matter. The law was named after Wilkinson, who died in 2013…law.com, 1st Department: ‘Lavern’s Law’ Does Not Expand Limitations Period for Lung Cancer Patient, Jason Grant, Mar, 2022
In a suit filed by lung-cancer patient Geraldine Ford against her former radiologist, the Appellate Division, First Department tossed out her malpractice and
lack-of-informed-consent action.
Reversing the trial court decision, a state appeals court said that her action was time-barred despite her and her lawyers’ attempt to use the so-called Lavern’s Law, which expanded the state’s statute of limitations for cancer misdiagnosis cases.
Among other aspects of Lavern’s Law, which was enacted in 2018, it established that the statute of limitations for certain medical malpractice actions, including those focused on negligent failure to diagnose cancer or a malignant tumor, begins when a patient discovers the alleged wrongdoing, not when—as it had been—when the negligent
act occurred, according to various law-firm website descriptions and news articles about the statute.