Introduction.

Injured Oregon children do not necessarily have until age 18 to file a lawsuit. While some states have a blanket rule that children can wait until they become adults to sue, Oregon does not.

General Rule For Child Statute of Limitations and Common Exceptions.

Oregon's Statute of Limitations considers minority (age under 18) a "disability." A person under disability gets up to a 5-year extension in the statute of limitations. So, if the child were hurt at age 8, there is no way that the statute of limitations will last to age 18 for personal injury or medical malpractice cases.

However, the "disability" of minority ends on the 18th birthday. Then, the child (now an adult) must sue within one year unless the time limit expires sooner or later. Here's how the general rule and some exceptions play out.

1. If injured in a car accident, a child has the regular 2 years to sue + 5 = 7 years.

Example A. If injured at age 15, the child would have the regular 2 years, plus an extension for her minority. But at age 18 the minority ends, and then she must file before her 19th birthday.

Example B: A child is injured at age 11 ½. She has the regular 2 years for a car accident, bringing her to age 13 ½. Then she has up to 5 more years, which means she has to file by age 18 ½.

Example C: A child is injured at age 17 ½. The extension does not help her. She must file within 2 years, by age 19 ½.

3. Exception # 2: The Statute of Repose. Oregon law has one time limit based on when the person realized he had a claim, which is the statute of limitations. Oregon has another limit based on when the problem happened, which is the statute of repose. For car accidents, it's 10 years. But, for medical malpractice cases, the statute of repose is 5 years. That means, the lawsuit must be filed with 5 years of the time the doctor malpracticed. So, in Example B above, the child must sue by age 16 ½ . (There is an exception to this exception, too. Ask your lawyer about it.)

4. Exception # 3 involves claims against governmental agencies, such as a city, the state, Oregon Health Sciences University, school districts, or other public bodies. If the child has an injury claim against a governmental agency, he or she must file the lawsuit within 2 years. For claims against public agencies, there is no 5-year extension for disabilities, including minority. The time limit to file the lawsuit is two years; that's it.

There's another pitfall when suing public bodies. Everyone must provide "Tort Claims Notice" to governmental agencies. For injured adults, the time limit is 180 days. For child injury claims, the public body must receive the tort claims notice within 270 days.

5. Exception # 4: Certain claims have their own time limitations. A good example of this is lawsuits alleging child abuse, child rape, sexual exploitation of children, or knowingly allowing, permitting or encouraging the above. Under certain circumstances, the victim may file the lawsuit up until 5 years after she or he discovered the abuse caused injury, but no later than their 40th birthday.

Conclusion.

The lesson from the above? Don't assume anything when it comes to time limits for making claims on behalf of children (or adults, for that matter). If a claim is not filed on time, it is lost forever. So talk with your lawyer, and figure it out.

Jeff Merrick, Oregon Trial Attorney 503-665-4234

The above is not legal advice. I cannot give you reliable advice without knowing more information. It is intended to raise some issues for you to discuss with your own lawyer.