Two years after her death, the state is inching closer to righting the unthinkable wrong that doomed Lavern Wilkinson.
Gov. Cuomo threw his support Sunday behind “Lavern’s Law” — a bill that would strengthen the rights of victims of medical malpractice to hold hospitals accountable in court.
The endorsement from the governor provides a big boost for the legislation named after Wilkinson, a Brooklyn mother who died in March 2013 from a curable form of lung cancer after doctors at Kings County Hospital failed to alert her to a suspicious mass noted in X-rays three years prior.
EDITORIAL: CURE FOR AN INJUSTICE
Wilkinson, 41, was barred from suing the hospital due to a legal loophole that requires claims of medical malpractice against public hospitals be filed within 15 months after they occur — instead of when the patient actually discovers the neglect.
The push to reform the law is gaining steam in Albany as the legislative session enters its final stretch.
“The governor will sign this legislation if passed,” Cuomo spokesman Richard Azzopardi told the Daily News.
While the bill has never passed either house, the state Senate is seen as the biggest obstacle, given the opposition from the health care industry, which is keen to avoid costly litigation.
The New York State Trial Lawyers Association, which is close to the Assembly’s Democratic majority, supports the measure.
“Penalizing a patient who just found out she has a terminal illness simply because they found out about the doctor’s error too late makes a bad situation even worse,” said Michael Levine, president of the association.
“New York should join the 44 other states that already have this common-sense law on the books.”
The bill recently was reported out of the Assembly Codes Committee.
“It didn’t come out of codes without the speaker knowing about it,” said Committee Chairman Joseph Lentol (D-Brooklyn) when asked about its chances of reaching the floor. “We’ll see. Hope springs eternal with this legislation.”
A Senate spokesman said the measure is one of the bills that will be reviewed before the end of the legislative session next week.
Wilkinson’s plight was detailed in front-page stories and editorials in 2013. Her main concern in her final months was ensuring someone could properly care for her autistic, severely developmentally disabled daughter Micalia, then 15.
“If someone was to give me a choice between having money or having my life back and my health back, I would choose my health and having my life back for the sake of this beautiful little girl,” she said.
The city settled Wilkinson’s lawsuit, and cut her family a check for $625,000 the day she died, March 7, 2013.
Medical malpractice experts said her case would have netted over $10 million had it not been for the statute of limitations.
On Sunday, The News reported that the meager settlement amount was still sitting in an escrow account due to bureaucratic red tape.
Wilkinson’s 63-year-old aunt, Gloria O’Connor, is fulfilling her promise and caring for Micalia.
But the paperwork authorizing O’Connor as Micalia’s legal guardian has been stuck in Brooklyn Surrogate’s Court, holding up the much-needed settlement money.
“It’s outrageous that the system takes so long,” attorney Judy Donnel said Saturday.
That money is urgently needed.
Micalia, now 18, is 5-feet-9 and weighs 317 pounds. O’Connor — herself a breast cancer survivor — is exhausted helping her with basic tasks such as dressing, using the bathroom and brushing her teeth.
Mayor de Blasio’s press secretary said Sunday that Surrogate’s Court is out of the administration’s control, but the city is looking for ways to speed up the process.
“(Health and Hospitals Corp.) officials are looking closely at the situation and evaluating methods to expedite the payment,” said Karen Hinton.
