5th Circuit Leaves Statute of Limitations Decision to Fact Finder

NEW ORLEANS - A federal appeals panel has reinstated a lawsuit by an offshore drill worker who says he didn't realize the extent of his respiratory illness, or its possible link to his work, until an independent medical examination five years after symptoms first appeared. Pretus v. Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc., et al., No. 08-40622 (5th Cir.).

A 5th Circuit panel ruled 2-1 on June 12 that a district court erred in finding Herbert B. Pretus Jr.'s claims barred by a three-year statute of limitations for Jones Act and general maritime law claims.

Pretus seeks damages for hypersensitivity pneumonitis that …