Debiec v. Cabot Corp.
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
352 F.3d 117 (2003)
Four individuals who worked at or lived near Cabot's (defendant) beryllium plant developed Chronic Beryllium Disease (CBD), but three of them (Debiec, Russo, and Bare) were repeatedly told by their own physicians that they did not have CBD despite their suspicions, only learning the true diagnosis shortly before filing suit; a fourth, Branco, was advised by his doctor to get retested for CBD after an initial negative test the doctor considered unreliable, but Branco never followed up. The trial court granted summary judgment for Cabot on all claims as time-barred, and the plaintiffs appealed.
Whether, under the discovery rule, the statute of limitations only begins to run when the plaintiff knows, or reasonably should know, that he has been injured and that his injury has been caused by another party's conduct.