Opinion ID: 707278
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Date of Discovery

Text: 18 Jensen suffered increasingly severe symptoms from 1977 to 1992. During that period, Jensen claims that she suspected the pesticide Malathion, which was sprayed by the state of California in 1979 to prevent the spread of the medfly, as the cause of her injuries. In 1981, she brought a legal action against the State of California and a helicopter company as a result of the Malathion medfly spraying. 5 19 On September 24, 1991, Jensen saw Dr. Ronald S. Greenwald, a neurologist. Dr. Greenwald wrote a letter dated September 30, 1991 to Jensen's referring physician which stated: 20 This is a 52-year-old, right-handed white female with a long history dating back ten years ago of being 'poisoned' with Malathion and lindane together. This was exposed to her skin for over 24 hours when they were spraying for the medfly outbreak ten years ago. She states that this was the beginning of her injury and accident.... She states that she has had many reactions to malathion.... 21 Jensen claims that she did not suspect that her injuries were caused by Instar's spraying of the Safrotin in her workplace until June 12, 1992. On that date, Jensen observed APM agents spraying Safrotin at her office during work hours, and suffered acute physical symptoms. Upon discovering the cause of her symptoms, Jensen led an effort to evacuate the building. 22 The discovery rule tolls California's one year statute of limitations for personal injury actions until such time as the plaintiff is or should reasonably be aware of her injury and its negligent cause. Jolly v. Eli Lilly & Co., 44 Cal.3d 1103, 1109 (1988). The limitations period begins when the plaintiff suspects, or should suspect, that she has been wronged. Id. at 1114. A plaintiff is held to actual knowledge as well as knowledge that could reasonably be discovered through investigation of sources open to her. Id. at 1109. 23 Prior to June 12, 1992, Jensen had no reason to suspect that Safrotin, a possible cause of her injuries, was being applied in her workplace. Until that date, when she acquired actual knowledge of the spraying, Jensen reasonably believed that her earlier Malathion exposure was the sole cause of her injuries. Dr. Greenwald's letter supported her hypothesis. We therefore find that the limitations period began to run on June 12, 1992, when Jensen first had reason to believe that pesticides sprayed in her workplace could be causing her injuries. Jensen's June 14, 1993 filing fell within the California's one-year statute of limitations for personal injury actions and is therefore timely. Accordingly, we reverse the district court's holding on this issue. 6