The Superior Court of Los Angeles County (California) sustained a demurrer in favor of appellee railway company to a complaint filed by appellant claimant and found that the claimant’s tort action was barred by the statute of limitations. The claimant appealed.
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Overview
Claimant was a passenger on a streetcar which was operated negligently by the railway company. He suffered an injury from glass splinters which pierced the right eyeball due to the railway company’s negligence, and the railway company directed claimant to go to certain eye specialists employed by it. Claimant submitted to treatment by the railway company’s employed physicians and although the physicians knew that the injury would eventually cause a cataract and the destruction of eyesight, they told claimant he would be fine. Not until years later had a cataract completely enveloped the eye and caused total blindness. Claimant brought the current action within one year after the first discovery of the alleged fraud, but the trial court dismissed the action on statute of limitations grounds nonetheless. On appeal from that ruling, the court found that the limitation period was tolled due to the fraudulent concealment by the railway company’s agents. Given this finding of tolling, the court held that claimant’s action was timely brought after discovery of the alleged fraud and that the trial court erred in sustaining the demurrer to the complaint.
Outcome
The court reversed the trial court ruling.