Controversy: How Long Does a Worker Have To File an Asbestos Lawsuit?

April 15, 2014- There’s still debate over the question of how long a worker has to file a lawsuit after first experiencing symptoms of an asbestos-related disease. Despite 40 years of litigation and the existence of “discovery rules” that determine how statutes of limitation apply to asbestos-related illness, the issue remains unclear.

Case in point: A state appeals court in Delaware’s New Castle County last month made a ruling involving a worker of a company acquired by URS Corp. The ruling involves the worker’s contention that he didn’t receive or understand at first the medical terminology in his earliest diagnosis. The appeals-court panel reinstated the claim dismissed by a lower court originally filed in 2009 by oil-refinery worker Paul DaBaldo Jr. URS argued that DeDaldo’s claim was time-barred -- the clock had run out. Debaldo then appealed, saying his claim was made on time because his initial medical diagnosis was unclear.

In many states, the “discovery rule” dictates whether a claim can be made, says Kenneth Fryncko, a Pittsburgh attorney who represents clients in asbestos-related cases. “The statute of limitations begins to run when you know or should have known you had asbestosis,” he says.

That rule dates back to the Borel v. Fireboard Paper case, a 1973 federal appeals-court decision upholding a jury verdict. It set a precedent under which the cause of action doesn’t start until the disease is discovered, or reasonable due diligence should have discovered it. The clock doesn’t begin to tick until “the effects of the exposure manifest themselves,” wrote the judges on the Borel case.

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