letter urging passage of lavern's law in nys

7/26/2019 Letter Urging Passage of Lavern's Law in NYS

1/4

BRONX CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT LIVINGBROOKLYN CENTER FOR INDEPENDENCE OF THE DISABLED

BROOKLYN-WIDE INTERAGENCY COUNCIL OF THE AGINGCENTER FOR INDEPENDENCE OF THE DISABLED, NEW YORK

CENTER FOR JUSTICE & DEMOCRACY

CENTER FOR MEDICAL CONSUMERSCITIZEN ACTION OF NEW YORKCITIZENS ENVIRONMENTAL COALITION

COMMISSION ON THE PUBLICS HEALTH SYSTEMCOMMUNITY SERVICE SOCIETY OF NEW YORK

CONSUMERS UNIONDENSE NEW YORK (Density Education National Survivors Effort)

DISABILITIES NETWORK OF NEW YORK CITYEMPIRE STATE CONSUMER PROJECT

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE INITIATIVESGAY & LESBIAN INDEPENDENT DEMOCRATS

GRAY PANTHERS - NEW YORK CITY NETWORKHARLEM CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT LIVINGLAST STOP ADVOCACY PROJECT

LONG ISLAND PROGRESSIVE COALITIONLONG TERM CARE COMMUNITY COALITIONLUPUS & ALLIED DISEASES ASSOCIATION

MAKE THE ROAD NEW YORKMETRO NEW YORK HEALTH CARE FOR ALL CAMPAIGN

NAACP NEW YORK STATE CONFERENCENEW YORK COMMITTEE FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY & HEALTH

NEW YORK IMMIGRATION COALITIONNEW YORK PAID FAMILY LEAVE COALITION

NEW YORK PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUPNEW YORK STATE ASSOCIATION OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS

NEW YORK STATE NURSES ASSOCIATIONNEW YORK STATEWIDE SENIOR ACTION COUNCIL

NEW YORKERS FOR ACCESSIBLE HEALTH COVERAGENEW YORKERS FOR PATIENT & FAMILY EMPOWERMENT

PEACE ACTION OF NEW YORK STATETHE PEGGY LILLIS FOUNDATION

PULSE OF NEW YORKTEAMSTERS JOINT COUNCIL 16

TEAMSTERS LOCAL 237UNITED WE STAND (9/11 cleanup workers)

In Support of Laverns Law

June 13, 2016

Re: Laverns Law, A.285A (Weinstein)/ S.6596 (DeFrancisco)


2/4

Dear Governor Cuomo and Members of the Legislature:

The undersigned 34 organizations are writing to express our strong support for New

York to pass Date of Discovery legislation to protect the rights of medical

malpractice victims.

New York is one of just six states without a Date of Discovery law. Under existing

New York law, the statute of limitations for patients harmed by unreasonable,

irresponsible medical errors starts from the day the incident occurred, not when the

patient discovers the error and harm.1 This unfair rule penalizes victims of negligent

medical care who --through no fault of their ownrealize they have been harmed

only after the window for filing a lawsuit has already closed.

This is exactly what happened to Brooklyn mother Lavern Wilkinson. Ms. Wilkinson

was not told of the results of an x-ray revealing lung cancer for more than twoyears. By the time she discovered the error, the cancer had spread and was no longer

treatable. Lavern Wilkinson tragically passed away in May, 2013.

Because New York lacks a Date of Discovery rule, Lavern and her family were left

with no legal rights and without proper access to justice. She is not alone. Too often,

hospitals and health care providers who commit egregious, neglectful errors are

allowed to escape responsibility simply because their negligence was revealed too

late. The current law weakens incentives for hospitals and doctors to improve patient

safety measures so that these harmful incidents never happen in the first

place. Instead, it encourages a wall of silence that can further harm patients.

The Cuomo Administration and New York State Legislature have historically stood

up for patient safety. We urge to you to continue that support by passing the Date of

Discovery Law, also known as Laverns Law, to close this harmful loophole in New

Yorks statute of limitations so that the clock starts ticking from the date the patient

first learns, or reasonably should know, of the medical error. We believe this simple

fix is fair to patients, doctors and hospitals.

Thank you for your consideration of this critical issue. If you wish to discuss this

matter further, feel free to contact Ilene Corina, President of PULSE of New York, at

1New York requires victims of medical malpractice, with only a few exceptions, to file a claim within two and a half

years of the date of the malpractice incident (or end of continuous treatment), no matter when the negligent error is

discovered (CPLR 214-a). The deadline is even shorter for people harmed by public hospitals, because a notice of

claim must be filed within90 days of the incident and the case itself must be filed within a year and 90 days of the

incident (Gen Munic Law, 50-e, 50-i).


3/4

[email protected] 516-579-4711; Bob Cohen, Policy Director of Citizen

Action of New York, [email protected] 518-465-4600 x104; or Blair

Horner, Executive Director, New York Public Interest Research Group at

[email protected] 518-836-0876, x257.

Sincerely,

Bronx Center for Independent Living

Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled

Brooklyn-wide Interagency Council of the AgingCenter for Independence of the Disabled, New York

Center for Justice & Democracy

Center for Medical Consumers

Citizen Action of New YorkCitizens Environmental Coalition

Commission on the Publics Health SystemCommunity Service Society of New YorkConsumers Union

DENSE New York (Density Education National Survivors Effort)

Disabilities Network of New York CityEmpire State Consumer Project

Environmental Justice Initiatives

Gay & Lesbian Independent Democrats

Gray PanthersNew York City NetworkHarlem Center for Independent Living

Last Stop Advocacy Project

Long Island Progressive CoalitionLong Term Care Community Coalition

Lupus & Allied Diseases Association

Make the Road New YorkMetro New York Health Care for All Campaign

NAACP New York State Conference

New York Committee for Occupational Safety & Health

New York Immigration CoalitionNew York Paid Family Leave Coalition

New York Public Interest Research Group

New York State Association of Electrical Workers

New York State Nurses AssociationNew York Statewide Senior Action Council

New Yorkers for Accessible Health CoverageNew Yorkers for Patient & Family EmpowermentPeace Action of New York State

The Peggy Lillis Foundation

PULSE of New York

Teamsters Joint Council 16
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


4/4

Teamsters Local 237

United We Stand (9/11 cleanup workers)

letter urging passage of lavern's law in nys

Documents