5th Circuit Revives Survival Claims in Oilfield Radiation Exposure Class Action

NEW ORLEANS — A federal appeals court has reversed the dismissal of several oilfield radiation exposure lawsuits after adopting a recent state Supreme Court holding that recognized the discovery rule in applying a one-year statute of limitations to survival claims.

In its Oct. 30 decision, the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reinstated claims filed by the surviving family member of pipeyard workers exposed to naturally occurring radiation, commenting that the state high court made it clear in a ruling issued last May that the limitation period for bringing such actions is prescriptive, rather than peremptive.

The survival actions were …