Extending the Ohio Medical Malpractice Statute of Limitations May 26, 2012.

Ohio’s medical malpractice statute of limitations only allows 1 year for injured patient-victims to file suit against the health care provider responsible for injuring them.

In some instances, however, a statute can be extended, or "tolled," which means that the clock has been paused for some period of time for a specific reason.

Some reasons for tolling a statute of limitations can include:

• mental incompetency, such as when the victim of the injury is not competent at the time the injury occurred and is therefore unable to fully pursue a claim
• bankruptcy by the defendant can toll the statute of limitations by allaying an "automatic stay" until the bankruptcy is resolved
• the victim was a minor; in such instances, the statute of limitations is typically tolled until the minor is 18, and then he or she has the same timeframe as the original statute of limitations allows. So in Ohio, if a child is injured at 4, then once he or she turns 18, there’s a 12-month period for the victim to file a claim.