If a plaintiff is under age 18 when the cause of action accrues, the statute is suspended until the plaintiff reaches the age of majority. An objective, reasonable person standard is used to determine when a claimant knew or should have known that the injuries were caused by sexual abuse. The claimant in Blackowiak claimed that in 1970 or 1971, when he was 11 years old, he was sexually abused by his junior high school counselor. The court held that evidence that a plaintiff knows that he or she was abused is equivalent to evidence that the plaintiff knows the cause of the injury. Appellant argues that even though there were signs that something was wrong, the evidence does not show that prior to 1994, when she brought her claim, Marlys knew or should have known that she was abused.
Redeemer is both factually and procedurally distinguishable.
The abusive acts in Redeemer did not involve force, violence, or knowledge of being sexually abused when they occurred. Further, Redeemer involved review of a jury verdict, not a trial court's grant of summary judgment. We cannot agree. There is overwhelming evidence that Marlys was aware of the abuse at the time it occurred and after her marriage in 1963.