Families who experience injuries to their newborn child at birth in Kentucky have only a single year to file a birth injury lawsuit. Many of the types of serious birth injuries that manifest after birth are unable to be detected until toddlerhood or beyond, so Kentucky state law allows up to five total years to make a lawsuit should the injury not be discovered in the first year.
For families with children who have cerebral palsy or other serious medical issues from a birth injury, this means that filing a lawsuit must be done quickly in order to meet the statute of limitations. Kentucky places no cap on the amount of money that can be levied against a culpable healthcare facility or caregiver in the event of a birth injury that leads to serious medical conditions.
18 Million Dollar Reward
In 2007, a woman with a normal pregnancy was induced for labor, just like thousands of other mothers across the nation every day. The nursing staff was given instructions from her doctor for her care, which were not followed according to the records presented to a Kentucky court. The lack of proper care resulted in the baby lacking oxygen when born, and that led to a form of cerebral palsy.
After petitioning the court with a lawsuit against the hospital and the nursing staff, the family was awarded 18 million dollars. Over half of that amount was allotted for the expensive medical care that the child will require for the rest of his life. Other percentages were awarded to make up for the lack of income the child will face as an adult, due to being unlikely to ever being able to work a typical job.
Birth Injury Lawsuits
Contacting an attorney who specializes in Kentucky birth injury lawsuits should be the family’s first step. Because the statute of limitations offers only a very small window of opportunity, contacting an attorney before an official diagnosis may be preferable. After a lawyer is contracted, they can help with the investigations and record gathering necessary to present a case to the courts.
Birth injury lawsuits are a subset of medical malpractice lawsuits, which can often drag on for years in a Kentucky court. Many families choose to settle outside of court, so that the currently accumulating medical bills can be paid. This happened in the case of a family in Glasgow, Kentucky in 2015. While the judge ruled in their favor, and ordered the defendant to pay almost 19 million dollars, the family settled later outside of court for 17.5 million dollars, to remove the risk of the medical facility appealing the ruling and extending the case out for several more years.
Attorneys who handle birth injury lawsuits in Kentucky can help you decide when to settle, and how to calculate the amount that will be needed in order to pay for future medical care for the injured child. Attorneys can approach medical professionals and other experts who can estimate the care costs based on the severity of the injury, the future prognosis of the disorder or injury, and the cost trends of the medical industry.
A lawyer can also help you sort through the medical records retained from the time of pregnancy and birth, and find the right paperwork to bring before a court to show the culpability of the healthcare team, facility, or specific doctor or nurse. Any combination of these categories may be held responsible for the injury, depending on what the records show about the actions of the parties at the time of birth.
Sources:
http://www.birthinjuryguide.org/birth-injury/financial-support/statute-limitations/