On extremely rare occasions, counsel may be consulted on behalf of a horribly damaged cognitively impaired person who seeks to commence an action after the normal statute of limitations has run. Before rejecting the case outright, counsel should investigate whether there may be a permissible tolling of the statute of limitations for “insanity,” within the scope of CPLR §208, which will allow the action to be timely commenced. In this article we will discuss basic concepts with respect to this toll, how the term “insanity” has been defined by the courts, and when the toll may be applicable.” Insanity” as defined by the courts may or may not have the meaning that we ordinarily attribute to the word.

Reliance upon tolling the statute for insanity should be approached with extreme caution. In accordance with the legislative intent, its applicability has been very narrowly construed by the courts and such tolling should never be relied upon lightly to extend a statute of limitations. This toll is far less clearly defined than the toll for infancy and has been largely defined by judicial interpretation.

CPLR §208 permits a tolling of the statute of limitations for infancy and insanity. It provides: