Applying the statute of limitations is straightforward in most cases. In personal injury cases, a claimant usually knows when the clock starts ticking on his claim because he usually knows when he was hit by a bus or otherwise injured. But that's usually not the case for asbestos personal injury claimants.

It's harder to pin down the time of injury for these claimants. That's because it can take at least 20 years after asbestos exposure to be diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease like asbestosis or mesothelioma. And unlike most injuries, such as getting hit by a vehicle, the conduct that causes asbestos personal injuries usually can't be traced to a single moment in time. Rather, it's usually traced back to a period of exposure to asbestos over time (e.g., a portion of work history).

Further complicating things for asbestos claimants is the reality that statutes of limitations don't run nearly as long as it takes to diagnose an asbestos-related disease. Statutes governing limitations periods for personal injuries range from roughly one to six years. It takes much longer than that for asbestos claimants to discover their injuries. If asbestos claimants were held to the same standard as most personal injury claimants (e.g., the clock begins to run at the time of injury), their claims would be barred before they even realized they were injured.

Fortunately, courts have made exceptions for asbestos claimants when it comes to applying limitations periods.