A DISCOVERY RULE ENACTED IN 2018 REACHED BACK TEN MONTHS BEFORE THE RULE WAS ENACTED TO RENDER TIMELY THIS MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CAUSE OF ACTION ALLEGING THE NEGLIGENT FAILURE TO DIAGNOSE CANCER (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the medical malpractice cause of action alleging the negligent failure to diagnose cancer was rendered timely by a discovery rule which reaches back ten months before the discovery rule was enacted:

The causes of action arising from negligent failure to diagnose cancer accrued on October 23, 2014, when the defendants failed to advise [plaintiff] to submit to additional testing, such as a mammogram. However, the 2018 enactment also includes a provision providing for the revival of certain causes of action, such that an action may be commenced within six months after the effective date, i.e., by July 31, 2018, when it alleges a failure to diagnose cancer or a malignant tumor, and when it became time-barred within 10 months prior to the effective date of the statute—January 31, 2018, that is, on or after March 31, 2017 (see L 2018, ch 1, § 4…). Here, the causes of action qualify for revival pursuant to that provision, as they became time-barred in April 2017, within the 10-month period prior to the act’s effective date, and this action was commenced on June 11, 2018, prior to the July 31, 2018 deadline … . Rhodes v Dilena, 2026 NY Slip Op 04444, Second Dept 7-15-26

Practice Point: Consult this decision for an explanation of the application of the discovery rule enacted in 2018 providing for the revival of a medical malpractice action alleging negligent failure to diagnose cancer after the statute of limitations expired.