Statutes of Limitation
A statute of limitations sets a limit of the maximum amount of time after a wrong occurs in which a person harmed by that wrong may file a lawsuit. These limitations periods can be suspended ("tolled") for certain reasons, including when the person harmed is a minor child or is not mentally capable of understanding that he or she has been harmed.
If a person is a minor, mentally ill, imprisoned, or outside the United States when a cause of action accrues, the limitations period does not begin to run until the disability is lifted.