Article:
Remedies
for Victims of Sexual Abuse
Article:
Connecticut version of Remedies article
Legal Resources
for Victims of Sexual Abuse
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Susan K. Smith
David M. Moore
Attorneys at Law
Mediation, Collaboration
Victims' Remedies
Injury Cases
Smith & Moore, LLC
www.SmithMooreLLC.com
www.smith-lawfirm.com
suesmith@smith-lawfirm.com
24 East Main Street
(Route 44)
Old Avon Village North
Avon, CT 06001
Direct dial:
Atty Smith: (860) 678-1860
Atty. Moore: (860) 674-0122
Fax: (860) 677-5229
Directions & Map
Atty. Smith's Hartford
Conference Space
21 Oak Street
Suite 208
Hartford, CT 06106
Voice: (860) 297-0035
Directions & Map
Martindale-Hubbell
Peer Review Rated
For Ethical Standards and Legal Ability
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Statutes of Limitations
for Child Sexual Abuse
North Carolina |
| 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).
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| Last Update: |
08/25/2007 |
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