Norgart v. Upjohn Co.
California Supreme Court
981 P.2d 79 (1999)
Kristi Norgart McBride committed suicide in October 1985 by overdosing on prescription drugs, including Halcion, a sleep medication manufactured by The Upjohn Company. Six years later, in October 1991, her parents Leo and Phyllis Norgart sued Upjohn for wrongful death, alleging that Halcion's side effects caused their daughter's depression and ultimately drove her to suicide, and that Upjohn had failed to adequately warn of the drug's dangers. Leo Norgart stated in a declaration that he did not actually suspect Halcion had played a role in his daughter's death until he and his wife read a 1991 news article about the drug's side effects.
Whether, for purposes of determining if the statute of limitations has run, a cause of action generally accrues and the statutory period begins when all elements of the cause of action are complete.