Bodily injury and medication: The limitation period does not begin upon death, but upon awareness of the risk
Published on :
28/08/2025
28
August
Aug
08
2025
Source: www.courdecassation.fr
An interim injunction was sought against the manufacturer of a medicine several years after the death of a patient treated with this product. The beneficiaries requested an expert assessment and an advance payment, contesting the rejection of their claim by the ONIAM (Office National d'Indemnisation des Accidents Médicaux - National Office for Compensation of Medical Accidents). The Court of Appeal dismissed their application, ruling that the action was time-barred ten years after the death.
The Court of Cassation overturned this decision. It pointed out that, for products placed on the market between the expiry of the deadline for transposing the 1985 directive and the entry into force of the 1998 law, the limitation period must be interpreted in the context of European law. In the case of personal injury, the limitation period does not start from the date of death or the manifestation of the damage, but from the moment when the victim (or their beneficiaries) became aware or should have become aware of the consolidation of the damage, the defect in the product and the identity of the manufacturer.
In this case, the harmful effects of the medicine were not scientifically established until 2009. The action brought in 2022 could not therefore be declared time-barred.
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