Metro-North Commuter R. Co. v. Buckley, 521 U.S. 424, 28 (1997)

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Cite as: 521 U. S. 424 (1997)

Opinion of Ginsburg, J.

nary medical surveillance. See Restatement (Second) of Torts § 7 (1964) (defining injury as "the invasion of any legally protected interest of another"); see Friends for All Children, Inc. v. Lockheed Aircraft Corp., 746 F. 2d 816, 826 (CADC 1984) ("It is difficult to dispute that an individual has an interest in avoiding expensive diagnostic examinations just as he or she has an interest in avoiding physical injury."); Ayers v. Jackson, 106 N. J. 557, 591, 525 A. 2d 287, 304 (1987).

Traditional tort principles upon which the FELA rests warrant recognition of medical monitoring claims of the kind Buckley has asserted. As the Third Circuit explained, "[t]he policy reasons for recognizing this tort are obvious[:]"

"Medical monitoring claims acknowledge that, in a toxic age, significant harm can be done to an individual by a tortfeasor, notwithstanding latent manifestation of that harm. Moreover, . . . recognizing this tort does not require courts to speculate about the probability of future injury. It merely requires courts to ascertain the probability that the far less costly remedy of medical supervision is appropriate. Allowing plaintiffs to recover the cost of this care deters irresponsible discharge of toxic chemicals by defendants and encourages plaintiffs to detect and treat their injuries as soon as possible. These are conventional goals of the tort system . . . ." Paoli I, 916 F. 2d, at 852.

See also Potter v. Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., 6 Cal. 4th 965, 1008, 863 P. 2d 795, 824 (1993); Hansen v. Mountain Fuel Supply Co., 858 P. 2d 970, 976-978 (Utah 1993); Ayers, 106 N. J., at 603-605, 525 A. 2d, at 311-312; Burns v. Jaquays Mining Corp., 156 Ariz. 375, 380-381, 752 P. 2d 28, 33-34 (App. 1987).

On all counts—exposure, increased risk of devastating disease, and the necessity of monitoring—Michael Buckley's complaint presents a textbook case. Through its stipula-

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