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Healy v. Owens-Illinois7/15/2005
This appeal arises from the circuit court's entry of summary judgment in favor of defendant corporations Owens-Illinois, Inc., Commonwealth Edison Company, Union Carbide Corporation and Union Carbide Polyolefins Development Company, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as defendants), on plaintiff's complaint alleging that Francis Healy's personal injuries arose from asbestosis caused by exposure to asbestos fibers. The circuit court held that plaintiff's lawsuit was barred by the two-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims (735 ILCS 5/13-202 (West 2000)) because, as a matter of law, Healy was on notice of his injury in January 1999, more than two years before he filed his claim. Because we find that the record does not reveal a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Healy knew or reasonably should have known of his asbestos-related injury more than two years before his complaint was filed, we affirm the circuit court's grant of summary judgment to defendants.
The following undisputed facts are taken from the pleadings, interrogatories and deposition testimony in the record. Healy was born in 1935. Healy's father and his brother, John, were asbestos workers. Healy stated that when he was a child, it was customary for people to bathe only once a week and for family members to share the same bed. Healy said his family followed those routines, sharing a bed with his father or brother. Healy said his father regularly came home from his asbestos job with dust-covered clothing. Healy's father died in 1962, and Healy lived in the family home until 1971.
Healy was employed as an asbestos worker alongside his father in 1952 and 1953. From 1957 to 1998, Healy worked as a Chicago police officer, and from 1960 to 1965, he also worked part-time at his uncle's asbestos company.
John Healy contracted asbestosis, which prompted a lawsuit and an appeal similar to this proceeding (which will be addressed later in our analysis). Healy's cousin, Marguerite Ryan Kiley, who lived with the Healy family from 1941 to 1955, was diagnosed with an asbestos-related medical condition in 1996.
In December 1998, Healy's physician, Dr. Michael Ramsey, ordered chest X rays as part of a general physical. Those X rays displayed cloudiness in Healy's lungs, and the written X-ray report noted that Healy's results suggested "the presence of pulmonary fibrosis" and that the condition of his lungs was "seen in patients with asbestosis." The radiology report concluded with the inquiry, "Does this patient have an asbestos exposure history?" No evidence was offered that Healy was shown a copy of the December 1998 reports.
Dr. Ramsey referred Healy to Dr. J. Peter Szidon, a pulmonologist, who examined Healy on January 5, 1999. Healy said he told Dr. Szidon of his father and brother's work history and his own exposure to asbestos and told the doctor that his brother was being treated for asbestosis. Healy said he and Dr. Szidon had "very general discussions" about asbestos exposure. Healy said that at that time, he believed that asbestos could cause lung disease. According to a letter written by Dr. Szidon on January 11, 1999, Healy told him that his father died of asbestosis and emphysema.
A letter from Dr. Szidon addressed to Dr. Ramsey and another physician regarding the January 5, 1999, examination noted Healy's symptoms and the history of asbestos exposure of Healy and his family. Dr. Szidon concluded with the following paragraph:
"It seems that this gentleman has asbestosis. Confirmation will be sought by obtaining a CT-scan of his chest. We will review him again in the clinic next week, after the results CT-scans are available and provide
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