Raytheon worker wins round in suit against companies she says poisoned her with beryllium

A federal appeals court this week reinstated a lawsuit by a former worker at a Raytheon plant in Waltham who argues that companies that supplied the beryllium products she spent eight years sanding and cleaning are responsible for her lung problems and Parkinson's Disease and should pay for her medical care.

A lower court had thrown out Suzanne Genereux's suit, arguing she filed it three days after the Massachusetts statute of limitations ran out. The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, however, ruled that the statute of limitations started ticking not from a doctor's conclusion she had asthma - something she had suffered since childhood - but from the date several months later when she was diagnosed with chronic beryllium disease by a Denver hospital based on tests showing abnormal amounts of beryllium in her blood.

The court also rejected arguments that Raytheon was a "sophisticated user" that should have known of the dangers of beryllium and taken appropriate measures to protect its workers. The court agreed that Raytheon in general is, indeed, a sophsticated company - but that the makers of the beryllium products Raytheon used were far more sophisticated when it comes to beryllium issues.

Complete ruling.