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April 14, 2026 Clouds | 61°F
The 194th General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Bill S.1139 194th (Current)

An Act to restore the statute of limitations for deaths due to tobacco use

By Mr. Keenan, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1139) of John F. Keenan for legislation to restore the statute of limitations for deaths due to tobacco use. The Judiciary.

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Bill Information

Presenter:
John F. Keenan

public health

Restores the decades-long statutory protection to families of the deceased that the wrongful death statute provided until recent jurisprudence removed that protection. For decades and up until a few years ago, if someone were injured in such a way that the injury caused death, even if the injured party did not file a claim within the 3 year statute of limitations, once that person died, their family was given 3 years to file a wrongful death claim. A case decided last year changed that rule so that, if the injured person failed to file a claim during the 3 years after being injured, and then died as a result of that injury, the family had no claim under the wrongful death statute. This comes into play for tobacco victims in 2 ways. First, many smokers die as a result of COPD, which usually comes on slowly with mild symptoms. Impairment from COPD in the first 3 years after diagnosis is often minimal and may not even require any medication. But 36 months after diagnosis, the statute of limitations has run for bringing a claim against the tobacco industry. Nobody would think to initiate such a lawsuit and no attorney would take a case where there is almost no debilitation from early onset of COPD. However, all too often the disease slowly progresses to the point where the victim requires 24 hour oxygen and loses almost all mobility. Ultimately, the disease results in a death by strangulation (oxygen deprivation), which is painful for the victim and the victim's loved ones. But due to this recent ruling, the company that addicted the victim as a child and lied about the risk it knew about its products for decades faces no legal consequences. Someone could also receive a crushing tobacco-caused cancer diagnosis and spend years battling the disease with surgery, chemo, radiation and is so consumed with medical appointments and hospital stays that the thought of shopping for a lawyer never enters their mind. Suddenly the cancer is now stage 4 and terminal, but the victim can no longer bring a legal claim. The grieving spouse who was likely involved with setting up medical appointments and driving their loved one to treatment and eventually hospice is also unable to file a wrongful death. This bill would provide a means to hold accountable companies that make consumer products that cause brutal latent injuries by removing the 3-year statute of limitations on wrongful death in Massachusetts.
* The bill summary was created by the Primary Sponsor of the bill; no committee of the General Court certifies the accuracy of its contents.

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