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Pollard v. Sherwin-Williams Co.9/6/2005
assertion that the issue of whether a suit is barred by the statute of limitations may be a question of fact for the jury. However, we are also mindful that the Mississippi Supreme Court has held that "as with other putative fact questions, the [statute of limitations] question may be taken away from the jury if reasonable minds could not differ as to the conclusion." Smith v. Sanders, 485 So. 2d 1051, 1053 (Miss. 1986).
. Therefore, based on Smith and Edwards, this Court must determine whether there is a genuine issue of material fact as to when Pollard had reasonable knowledge of Trellvion's injury, i.e., when the cause of action accrued. Toward this end, our review reveals several pertinent facts taken from the record depositions: from Trellvion's birth in 1991 until 1993, Pollard's mother, Doris Gaines, watched Trellvion while Pollard attended high school; on several occasions, Doris Gaines applied paint to the interior of the house where Pollard and Trellvion were living; Doris Gaines stated that she always requested lead-based paint when she purchased paint, and that as far as she knew, the paint she bought and applied to the house was lead-based paint; Doris Gaines stated that she saw Trellvion eating paint chips which had been scraped off of the interior surface of the house in preparation for applying new paint; Trellvion had a high fever on a particular day in 1993 and was examined by a physician, Dr. David Timm; the physician ordered blood tests and the laboratory results, dated September 16 and 21, 1993, indicated that Trellvion had excessive exposure to lead; within several days, Dr. Timm informed Pollard of the results; and finally, Pollard stated in her July 2001 deposition that after Trellvion was diagnosed with excessive exposure to lead, Doris Gaines told Pollard sometime before the house burned in 1994 that she used lead-based paint inside the house.
. With these facts in mind, we pause to consider the case law Pollard and Trellvion offer in support of their argument: Cannon, Schiro, and Edwards. Cannon involved an x-ray technician who began working with various chemicals in 1975, and began experiencing a variety of health problems within six months of beginning her employment. Cannon, 738 So. 2d at 275. These symptoms included: burning eyes, a burning sensation throughout her body, sinus problems, extreme nausea, and severe headaches. Id. These symptoms persisted for almost two decades, and despite multiple medical evaluations during these years, her doctors were unable to make a definitive diagnosis of her illnesses. Id. Finally, some eighteen years after Cannon first became sick, a physician reported that exposure to chemicals at her workplace was a major cause of her health problems. Id. Cannon'semployer argued that she should be charged with discovery of her injuries from the time she initially sought treatment for her illnesses between 1980 and 1990 or, in the alternative, that she should be charged with knowledge from the date in 1992 when she read an article about darkroom disease which discussed the connection between her illnesses and a toxic workplace. Cannon, 738 So. 2d at 277. This Court concluded that based on the lack of a definitive diagnosis and because Cannon was not personally trained in toxicology, pharmacology, or radiology, she could not be reasonably expected to diagnose a disease on which the medical community had yet to reach an agreement. Id. Based on these conclusions, this Court ruled that a genuine issue of material fact existed as to the date of accrual of her cause of action, and that the circuit court's grant of summary judgment was improper. Id.
. Despite Pollard and Trellvion's argument, we find that Cannon is factually distinguis
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