| General discovery statute (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52(16)(1993)) and general incompetency tolling provision (§ 1-17(a)(1993)). |
Incompetency tolling: within 3 years of the removal of the incompetency or reaching age 18.
Statutory discovery tolling: actions accrue when the bodily harm becomes apparent or ought reasonable to have become apparent to the claimant. Section 1-52 (16) provides:
Unless otherwise provided by statute, for personal injury or physical damage to claimant's property, the cause of action, except in causes of actions referred to in G.S. 1-15(c), shall not accrue until bodily harm to the claimant or physical damage to his property becomes apparent or ought reasonably to have become apparent to the claimant, whichever event first occurs. Provided that no cause of action shall accrue more than 10 years from the last act or omission of the defendant giving rise to the cause of action.
In Soderlund v. Kuch, the Court strictly interpreted the discovery provision and barred a victim's claim because the victim's conditions and their relation to the abuse could have been diagnosed by a professional within several years of the abuse. The Court concluded:
The primary purpose of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52(16) is that it is intended to apply to plaintiffs with latent injuries. Specifically, § 1-52(16) protects a potential plaintiff in the case of a latent injury by providing that a cause of action does not accrue until the injured party becomes aware or should reasonably have become aware of the existence of the injury. As soon as the injury becomes apparent to the claimant or should reasonably become apparent, the cause of action is complete and the limitation period begins to run.
Soderlund v. Kuch, 143 N.C. App. 361, 370, 546 S.E.2d 632, 638; disc. rev. denied, 353 N.C. 729, 551 S.E.2d 438-39 (2001).
|
