Alabama sets new timetable for statute of limitations in toxic exposure lawsuits

The Supreme Court of Alabama has ruled that the two-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims will now begin when the alleged injury manifests itself as a present injury. This will likely result in a sharp increase in the number of toxic tort suits filed in Alabama.

For 29 years Alabama has followed the rule set forth in Garrett v. Raytheon. Garrett v. Raytheon Co., 368 So.2d 516 (Ala. 1979). The Garrett Court held that a personal injury action based upon exposure to hazardous chemicals accrues on the date of last exposure to the chemicals. Id. Thus, as many toxic tort injuries do not manifest themselves in a form that can be diagnosed to a medical degree of certainty within two years, many cases were time-barred by Alabama’s two year statute of limitations on personal injury claims. Ala. Code § 6-2-38(1) (1975).

In a recent 5-4 decision that is pending publication, the Supreme Court of Alabama specifically overruled Garrett. In Griffin v. Unocal Corporation, et al., the Court ruled that "a cause of action accrues only when there has occurred a manifest, present injury." Griffin v. Unocal Corporation, et al., 2008 WL 204445 (Ala.), quoting the dissent in Cline v. Ashland, Inc., et al., 2007 WL 30070 (Ala.). The Griffin case involved a worker in the rubber industry who was allegedly exposed to benzene from 1973 through 1993. The worker developed what is alleged to be benzene related leukemia in 2003. The trial court dismissed the case as violative of Alabama’s statute of limitations. The Alabama Supreme Court overruled the trial court and overturned the Garrett line of cases. As a result, plaintiffs will now have two years to file suit after a medical problem becomes apparent, such as after a doctor’s diagnosis.

The Griffin ruling will likely lead to a significant increase in the numbers of toxic tort cases filed in Alabama. The decision comes after the election in 2006 of a new Supreme Court Justice, Sue Bell Cobb. Cobb is the sole Democrat on the Court and hers was the deciding vote.