Reversing a Philadelphia Complex Litigation Center judge, a split panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court has ruled that two asbestos plaintiffs who roughly 20 years ago both sought damages for nonmalignant injuries and increased risks of cancer are not barred under the statute of limitations from bringing suits over lung cancers diagnosed relatively recently.
In an apparent case of first impression, the majority concluded that the 1992 precedent that created Pennsylvania’s “two-disease rule” should be applied retroactively.
