The defendant physicians brought a motion for summary judgment dismissing a medical malpractice claim on the basis that it was statute-barred under the Limitations Act, 2002.
The action alleged negligent delay in diagnosing breast cancer, which later recurred and became terminal.
The court considered the discoverability principle and the requirement that a claim be based on material facts including causation and actionable damage.
It held that although the cancer was diagnosed in 2007, the plaintiff’s condition went into remission and actionable injury only became apparent when the cancer recurred in 2009.
The court concluded that the defendants failed to establish that the limitation period necessarily began earlier, and that the issue required a trial.
