Are plaintiff's claims barred by the statute of limitations?

We review de novo the district court's determination that plaintiff's claims are barred by the statute of limitations. See Eagleston v. Guido, 41 F.3d 865, 870 (2d Cir.1994).

1. FTCA Claims

The FTCA provides that "[a] tort claim against the United States shall be forever

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Ordinarily, a plaintiff's FTCA claim accrues at the time of injury. See Barrett v. United States, 689 F.2d 324, 327 (2d Cir.1982). However, in cases such as this one, where the government conceals the acts giving rise to plaintiff's claim, or where plaintiff would reasonably have had difficulty discerning the fact or cause of injury at the time it was inflicted, the so-called "diligence-discovery rule of accrual" applies. ⁴ Under this rule, "accrual may be postponed until the plaintiff has or with reasonable diligence should have discovered the critical facts of both his injury and its cause." Id. Discovery of the "critical facts" of injury and causation is not an exacting requirement, but requires only