Atwood v. Sturm

In Atwood v. Sturm, 823 P.2d 1064 (Utah 1992), the Court held that section 78-12-36 did not toll the applicable statute of limitations where the plaintiff was initially in the hospital for two weeks. The Court stated as follows: "Clearly, plaintiff does not come within section 78-12-36. While plaintiff was prevented from obtaining legal advice or pursuing any action during his hospitalization, nevertheless, he had the balance of the four-year period to bring this action. He learned in the spring of 1988 that he had a potential lawsuit and had a number of months thereafter to file his action; the initial two-week hospitalization at the beginning of the four-year period was inconsequential in affecting his legal rights." In Atwood, the Court held that the plaintiff was not mentally incompetent under section 78-12-36.