§ 340.7.Dalkon Shield Victims

Section 340.7 addresses one specific piece of product-liability history: injuries from the Dalkon Shield intrauterine device. Rather than the ordinary two-year personal injury period in § 335.1, a civil action against the Dalkon Shield Claimants’ Trust must be brought under the procedures set out in the A.H. Robins Company’s bankruptcy reorganization plan, within 15 years of the date the victim’s injury occurred. That period is tolled starting August 21, 1985, the date A.H. Robins filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in Richmond, Virginia.

The section applies regardless of when the underlying claim accrued or was filed, and regardless of whether it would otherwise have lapsed under California law — but only for victims who, before January 1, 1990, had already filed a civil action, a timely claim, or a claim declared timely under the specific bankruptcy disclosure statement described in the section.