Personal injury claim dismissed as limitation period expired despite employer’s failure to act on medical warnings

The High Court dismissed a personal injury action brought by the plaintiff against her employer, finding that the claim was issued outside the applicable statutory limitation period. Although the plaintiff argued that she only became aware of the significance and attribution of her respiratory injury after she left work in March 2022, the court concluded that medical records dating from 2019 and 2020 demonstrated that the plaintiff, or at least a reasonable person in her circumstances, should have been aware both that she had a significant injury and that it was potentially linked to workplace chemical exposure well over two years prior to the proceedings. While the plaintiff's failure to act within the statutory timeframe was determinative, the judge separately expressed concern that the employer apparently did not act on explicit warnings from the plaintiff’s general practitioner about chemical exposure. Acknowledging both sides’ shortcomings, the court made no order as to costs.