Mesothelioma Lawsuit, Delayed by COVID Restrictions, Permitted to Move Forward
Victoria Pawlowski was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma in 2018. She attributed her illness to asbestos exposure from talc-based cosmetic products she’d used and subsequently filed a lawsuit in 2021 against Estee Lauder and other talc companies. The cosmetic company moved to have the case dismissed, arguing that her claim had missed the statutory deadlines imposed for personal injury cases. However, Justice Adam Silvera of the Supreme Court of New York County denied the motion, agreeing with the victim that the date of her official diagnosis and the extension of the statute of limitations imposed by New York’s governor during the COVID-19 pandemic, applied to her claim.
Court Rejects Estee Lauder’s Attempt to Dismiss Mesothelioma Lawsuit
In New York, plaintiffs who suffer a personal injury, including a mesothelioma diagnosis, must file any legal claim within three years of discovering their injury or when they reasonably should have discovered it. This period is known as a statute of limitations. For Mrs. Pawlowski, a November 2017 surgery following an ectopic pregnancy revealed a nodule that was identified as peritoneal mesothelioma in February 2018. Estee Lauder argued that this would have required her to file suit by February 2021 and that her filing in July 2021 was too late.
Mrs. Pawlowski argued that New York’s tolling, or extension of the statute of limitations during the COVID pandemic, permitted her the additional time she took before filing her mesothelioma claim. She also said that her mesothelioma had not been confirmed until February 2019 or, at the earliest, November 2018, and submitted biopsy reports indicating that in November 2017, the nodule had been considered too isolated and inconclusive. She also provided the multiple potential diagnoses she’d received before mesothelioma was mentioned as a possibility in January 2018.
Judge Denies Request to Dismiss Mesothelioma Lawsuit
The cosmetic giant moved to have the mesothelioma claim against them dismissed, noting that she had filed other asbestos-related lawsuits during the same period, Justice Adam Silvera of the Supreme Court of New York County denied their petition. He noted that New York courts had consistently upheld the tolling order’s validity, and clarified that the tolling period ended when the Executive Order was signed on November 3, 2020, adding an extra 228 days to the filing deadline. Under this extension, Mrs. Pawlowski’s deadline to file was pushed to August 26, 2021—well beyond the date she submitted her lawsuit.
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