Gorski, 52, and Mitchell, 33, are both quadriplegics who suffered similar injuries when their sport-utility vehicles rolled over in separate accidents.

Mitchell's wreck happened within six years of when her 1995 Isuzu Rodeo was originally purchased, and she was able to sue the car maker. She received a confidential financial settlement that gave her a custom-built home and the knowledge that her future medical needs will be covered.

Gorski's accident happened six years and four months after her 1997 Chevrolet Blazer was bought. She was unable to sue. She and her husband are unsure about their financial future -- he about keeping their house, she about their retirement.

A North Carolina law sets a six-year time limit on lawsuits over defective products -- the shortest time limit anywhere in the country. A bill pending in the state Senate would give consumers the right to sue 15 years after the product was originally sold. Of the 11 states that limit lawsuits, six states have 10-year limits, and four others have limits up to 12 or 15 years.

About the two women, Raleigh lawyer Jay Trehy said, "One got justice in North Carolina. One did not."

Trial lawyers and Jim Long, the state insurance commissioner, support the proposal, saying it will help injured consumers and keep workers' compensation premiums down.

But the state business community and defense lawyers oppose the bill, saying it will expose North Carolina businesses to litigation on old products that were likely worn out instead of defective. They say the current law makes North Carolina attractive to companies and business investment. Plus, they say, manufacturers need what the current law gives them: finality on product liability.

"If you let tragic fact situations be the final determiner of policy, you would never have an end point," said Gary Parsons, a Raleigh lawyer who often represents insurance companies.

On July 6, 1997, Jennifer Mitchell and her then-boyfriend, Brandon, were driving home from a weekend at Myrtle Beach. Brandon Mitchell swerved to miss an oncoming car, and their 1995 Isuzu Rodeo rolled, causing her injuries.

Trehy, who has handled several SUV crash lawsuits, explained that sport-utility vehicles have a higher center of gravity and therefore will occasionally roll over during wrecks. Trehy said the windshield supports the vehicle's roof, and so, when the windshield breaks during a rollover, the roof can cave in on the driver or passenger, causing spinal-cord injuries.

Settlement is security

Mitchell is paralyzed from the chest down and has very limited use of her hands. Under North Carolina law, Mitchell could sue the automaker. Her lawsuit claimed the Isuzu's roof was defective. Her financial settlement helps with the expense of being a quadriplegic. "The financial costs are just astronomical," she said.

She spends a $1,000 a month -- that insurance will not cover -- for catheters. She recently had to pay $60 to have someone replace a screw on her wheelchair. A vehicle with modifications so she can drive adds $30,000 to the cost.

The settlement enabled Mitchell and her husband to purchase a custom-built home in Person County. The house is one level with 5-foot-wide hallways and doorways. She can wheel into the shower, and the sinks have space underneath so she can wheel up to them.

That's a huge change from their old home, where Mitchell could not get her wheelchair into the closets or bathrooms. When she left the house to take her daughter to school, she couldn't go back home because she didn't have the upper- body strength to wheel herself up the ramp. Instead, she would spend her days at the mall or sitting in the parking lot of her daughter's school.

"It's an awful feeling to know you can't do simple daily tasks," Mitchell said. "You have enough taken away from you. That little bit of independence means the world to you."

The settlement also assuages her concerns about her future medical needs. "It's nice to know when that time comes, I'll be able to afford the nursing care that I need," she said.

Pain and uncertainty

On Aug. 24, 2003, Elaine Gorski was a passenger in a 1997 Chevrolet Blazer riding along a rural road in Chatham County when a bee distracted the driver and the car rolled.

Gorski cannot move her legs but has partial function of her arms and hands. Her spinal cord was not severed, but compressed; therefore she still has feeling in her legs and experiences a constant level of severe pain.

Trehy, the Raleigh lawyer, said that because Gorski's Blazer was originally purchased six years and four months before the accident, she couldn't sue the automaker.

The accident, Gorski said, took her identity. She loved her job as a financial analyst at Duke Family Medicine Center. She exercised five days a week. She took care of her husband and two daughters.

"It impacts all of your social interactions and everything that you normally do in a day and you don't even think about," she said.

But Gorski said she's blessed to have the support of her family and friends. Her husband, Jeff, is skilled enough to have been able to modify their Chapel Hill home to accommodate her wheelchair. He and some friends installed the wheelchair ramp outside. He redesigned the kitchen, lowering the countertops, sink and plumbing. He has redone her office three times.

The Gorskis went from being a two-income household to Jeff Gorski's being the sole breadwinner. She can no longer work because of her chronic pain. He runs a handyman business and a track-and-field equipment business. But his time to work is limited by having to take care of his wife.

"Nickels and dimes are coming in," Jeff Gorski said. "Tens and twenties are going out.

"Honest to God, at some point, we're probably going to lose our house," he said. "I don't know when."

Elaine Gorski is more worried about their financial future in retirement and when, if ever, her husband will be able to stop working.

"Our lives could have been made a little bit easier if we had been given at least the opportunity to present our case," she said.

Though the legislation may not help her, she hopes it passes.

"In my dream of dreams, I wish there was some way it could help us," she said. "At least if they change this law, it will help somebody else."

Get $150+ in coupons in every Sunday N&O. Click here for convenient home delivery.