New York Law Extends Time to Sue Over Cancer Misdiagnosis

• Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed bill extending statute of limitations for medical malpractice suits involving cancer

• Law changes time window to discovery rule

The statute of limitations for filing medical malpractice suits in New York will be extended in cases involving an alleged misdiagnosis of cancer, under a bill (S. 7588) signed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D).

The bill, which was opposed by the state’s doctors, will give patients two-and-a-half years to sue from the time they discovered an alleged negligent failure to diagnose cancer.

The so-called discovery rule replaces the current statute of limitations, which provided ...