Tort Law-First Circuit Declares Widespread Publicity Triggers Claim Accrual Under Federal Tort Claims Act-Donahue v. United States, 634 F.3d 615 (1st Cir. 2011)

The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) affords private parties the opportunity to bring suit against the United States for certain types of tortious harm caused by government employees.  An FTCA claim generally accrues at the time of injury, but in circumstances where either the injury or its cause is not immediately apparent, federal courts employ a discovery rule that delays accrual until the plaintiff knows or reasonably should know the factual basis of his claim. In Donahue v. United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit considered whether publicity regarding the government’s role in causing the plaintiffs’ injuries was sufficient to start the running of the FTCA claim-accrual period.  The court held that the two-year statute of limitations time barred the plaintiffs’ FTCA claims because widespread media coverage should have made them aware of the causal link between the government’s actions and the deaths of their loved ones. . .