Statute of Limitations – Product Liability

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Patricia A. Stark v. Johnson & Johnson, et al.,

Case No.: 20-1837

Officials: EASTERBROOK, WOOD, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Statute of Limitations – Product Liability

This appeal turns on the Illinois discovery rule for applying the statute of limitations to product liability claims. Plaintiff Patricia Stark had surgery in 2007 to implant a pelvic mesh device. The surgery was not successful, and she had follow-up surgeries that also were not successful. In 2018, she learned for the first time that her problems with the pelvic mesh device might have resulted from a defect in the product itself. She consulted a lawyer and later that year filed this suit against the manufacturer. The district court concluded that Ms. Stark should have realized much earlier that the product might have been defective. The court granted summary judgment based on the two-year statute of limitations. We reverse.

The statute of limitations began to run only when Ms. Stark should have realized that her mesh-related complications might have been wrongfully caused by another person. As a general rule, the failure of a medical procedure or product to cure a patient does not necessarily signal that anyone acted wrongfully, particularly when the patient experiences known complications that do not necessarily result from tortious actions. In addition here, plaintiff’s medical history included Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which two of her doctors told her could explain her continued problems. The combination of that general principle and plaintiff’s specific circumstances could allow a reasonable jury to decide that this suit was timely.

Reversed and remanded

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Derek A Hawkins is Corporate Counsel, at Salesforce.