5. Statute of Limitations

Question 1

What is a statute of limitations?

Answer 1

An affirmative defense that can bring a meritorious action to an end based strictly upon the passage of time.

Question 2

When does the statute of limitations begin to run?

Answer 2

When the cause of action accrues.

Question 3

When does a cause of action accrue?

Answer 3

When the injury/impact occurs.

Question 4

What is the statute of limitations for negligence, personal injury, or property damage?

Answer 4

3 years

Question 5

What is the statute of limitations for a breach of contract cause of action?

Answer 5

6 years, running from the date of the breach. (Not from the discovery of the breach!)

Question 6

What must a Plaintiff do to satisfy the statute of limitations?

Answer 6

The plaintiff must commence the action (file) no later than the last permissible day.

Question 7

Explain the computation rule

Answer 7

You exclude the day upon which the triggering event occurs, and begin counting the next day.

Question 8

What if the last day for doing some procedural act falls on a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday?

Answer 8

The Plaintiff gets until the end of the next business day to perform the required act.

Question 9

What is the Statute of limitations for a medical malpractice claim?

Answer 9

2.5 years

Question 10

When does the statute of limitations for a medical malpractice claim begin to run?

Answer 10

From the date that the medical malpractice occurs, not when the patient discovers it

Question 11

What are the two exceptions for the statute of limitations regarding medical malpractice?

Answer 11

1. The continuous treatment doctrine

2. The foreign object rule

Question 12

Explain the continuous treatment doctrine

Answer 12

If, after the malpractice occurs, the doctor continues to treat the patient for the exact same medical condition that gave rise to the malpractice, Plaintiff gets 2.5 years from the termination of the continuous treatment.

Question 13

Explain the foreign object rule

Answer 13

If a doctor is responsible for introducing a foreign object into the patient’s body and then leaves it behind, the patient gets an option: he can either get 2.5 years from the date of the operation, or one year after the patient discovers the presence of the object, whichever is longer.

Question 14

What is meant by a “foreign object”

Answer 14

Something the doctor did not intend to leave in the body.

Question 15

What three things are specifically excluded from the definition of a foreign object?

Answer 15

1. Chemical substances
2. Prosthetic devices
3. A fixation device

Question 16

What is a “fixation device?”

Answer 16

An item that the doctor deliberately placed in the body with the intent that it remain to serve a continuing treatment purpose.