Opinion ID: 2458273
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Arkansas Cases

Text: In Field v. Gazette, 187 Ark. 253, 59 S.W.2d 19 (1933), a linotype operator alleged his employer had negligently failed to provide a safe workplace resulting in his contracting lead poisoning. Within three years (the limitations period) of going to work for the defendant, the plaintiff knew he had the malady because he had some sores on his feet resulting in amputation of a toe and ultimately a foot. The disease progressed, resulting in even more extensive leg amputations, more than three years after he became aware of having the disease. We held the statute of limitations began to run when the injuries were sustained `although their results may not be then fully developed,' quoting 130 R.C.L. § 30, p. 765 (1917). In Faulkner v. Huie, 205 Ark. 332, 168 S.W.2d 839 (1943), the plaintiff alleged in 1941 that as a result of a 1935 automobile accident he had lost his hearing in one ear. He contended he did not learn of this injury until after the applicable three-year statute of limitations had run. Citing and quoting § 899 c. of the Restatement of Torts, we held the statute began to run when the accident occurred because a battery or negligently inflicted personal injury `... is complete upon physical contact even though there is no observable damage at the time of contact.' 205 Ark. at 335, 168 S.W.2d at 840. We distinguished two nuisances cases, C., R.I. & P. Ry. Co. v. Humphreys, 107 Ark. 330, 155 S.W. 127 (1913), and Brown v. Arkansas Central Power Co., 174 Ark. 177, 294 S.W. 709 (1927), saying that when a landowner uses his land in a way that is not unlawful but which later results in injury to another, the causes of action accrue when the injury is perceived or could reasonably be ascertained by the plaintiff. We also distinguished the medical malpractice case in which a foreign object is left in the surgical patient's body, pointing out that a physician has a duty to disclose such misconduct and each day it continues constitutes a fraudulent concealment. The latter situation is now governed by a statutory limitations exception. Ark.Stat.Ann. § 34-2616 (Supp.1985).