440
Opinion of the Court
view, went beyond the bounds of currently "evolving common law." Gottshall, supra, at 558 (Souter, J., concurring).
Guided by the parties' briefs, we have canvassed the state-law cases that have considered whether the negligent causation of this kind of harm (i. e., causing a plaintiff, through negligent exposure to a toxic substance, to incur medical monitoring costs) by itself constitutes a sufficient basis for a tort recovery. We have found no other FELA decisions. We have put to the side several cases that involve special recovery-permitting circumstances, such as the presence of a traumatic physical impact, or the presence of a physical symptom, which for reasons explained in Part II are important but beside the point here. See, e. g., Friends for All Children, Inc. v. Lockheed Aircraft Corp., 746 F. 2d 816, 824-825 (CADC 1984) (traumatic impact); Hagerty v. L & L Marine Services, Inc., 788 F. 2d 315, modified, 797 F. 2d 256 (CA5 1986) (same); Simmons v. Pacor, Inc., 543 Pa. 664, 674 A. 2d 232 (1996) (physical symptom). We have noted that federal courts, interpreting state law, have come to different conclusions about the matter. Compare, e. g., In re Paoli R. Yard PCB Litigation, 916 F. 2d 829 (CA3 1990) (Pennsylvania law), with Ball v. Joy Technologies, Inc., 958 F. 2d 36 (CA4 1991) (West Virginia and Virginia law). And we have ended up focusing on several important State Supreme Court cases that have permitted recovery. Ayers v. Jackson, 106 N. J. 557, 525 A. 2d 287 (1987); Hansen v. Mountain Fuel Supply Co., 858 P. 2d 970 (Utah 1993); Potter v. Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., 6 Cal. 4th 965, 863 P. 2d 795 (1993); see also Burns v. Jacquays Mining Corp., 156 Ariz. 375, 752 P. 2d 28 (App. 1987).
We find it sufficient to note, for present purposes, that the
cases authorizing recovery for medical monitoring in the absence of physical injury do not endorse a full-blown, traditional tort law cause of action for lump-sum damages—of the sort that the Court of Appeals seems to have endorsed here. Rather, those courts, while recognizing that medical monitoring costs can amount to a harm that justifies a tort
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