Minors: the clock waits for 18
Under M.G.L. c. 260, § 7, the statute of limitations clock for a minor's own standard injury claim doesn't begin running until their 18th birthday. In practice, this generally gives a minor until their 21st birthday — the three-year general deadline, counted from when they turn 18 — to bring a claim.
A defendant who leaves Massachusetts
Under M.G.L. c. 260, § 9, time that the at-fault person spends outside of Massachusetts after the incident generally doesn't count against the claimant's three years, pausing the clock for the period the defendant is absent from the state.
The medical malpractice discovery rule, and its hard outer limit
For medical malpractice specifically, the clock generally starts when the injury is discovered, or reasonably should have been discovered — not necessarily the date of the malpractice itself. But this discovery-friendly starting point doesn't run forever: a separate statute of repose sets an absolute outer limit of seven years from the date of the malpractice, regardless of when it was actually discovered.
What doesn't extend the clock
A genuinely important point: even a catastrophic injury — paralysis, amputation, a traumatic brain injury — doesn't get a longer deadline on its own. The same general three-year rule applies regardless of the injury's severity. And a genuinely common and costly misunderstanding: actively negotiating a settlement with an insurance company does not toll or pause Massachusetts's filing deadline. The clock keeps running the entire time talks are ongoing, regardless of how close the parties seem to a resolution.