Jump to full article: Boston (MA) Globe, 2009-10-19
Author: John R. Ellement, Globe Staff
Intro: Massachusetts' high court said today that cigarette maker Philip Morris USA may have to pay for diagnostic chest exams so smokers can get early warning they have developed lung cancer.
In a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Judicial Court said that Massachusetts law has an antiquated definition of negligence that must be updated. Historically, plaintiffs had to show explicit injury -- such as a broken leg -- before the other party can be ordered to pay for diagnostic tests. Writing for the court, Justice Francis X. Spina said that legal thinking had to change.
"Modern living has exposed people to a variety of toxic substances," Spina wrote. "Illness and disease from exposure to these substances are often latent, not manifesting themselves for years or even decades after the exposure."
Spina added, "Our tort law developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ...We must adapt to the growing recognition that exposure to toxic substances and radiation may cause substantial injury which should be compensable even if the full effects are not immediately apparent." . . .
"The overwhelming majority of federal and state courts have rejected class certification of smokers' claims, including those seeking medical monitoring," Murray Garnick, Altria senior vice president and associate general counsel, said in a statement. "Six of the last seven state supreme courts to consider the issue have refused to recognize claims for medical monitoring based on the risk of future injury.''
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Quotes from this article:
Modern living has exposed people to a variety of toxic substances. Illness and disease from exposure to these substances are often latent, not manifesting themselves for years or even decades after the exposure. Our tort law developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries . . . We must adapt to the growing recognition that exposure to toxic substances and radiation may cause substantial injury which should be compensable even if the full effects are not immediately apparent.
MA Supreme Court Justice Francis X. Spina, writing for the court in the Donovan medical monitoring suit.
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