In most situations, you have one year to file a birth injury lawsuit in Kentucky. However, there is an important exception to this general rule that may apply to your child’s birth injury case.
The Kentucky Statute of Limitations for Medical Malpractice
The Kentucky statute of limitations for medical malpractice birth injury cases is one year. However, the law recognizes that not every birth injury is immediately apparent after delivery. Some children with cerebral palsy, for example, may not be diagnosed until after their second birthday. Accordingly, the law says that the one-year timeline for filing a lawsuit begins when the injury is first discovered or should have reasonably been discovered.
Even with this potential extension of the statute of limitations, the lawsuit must be brought within: (a) one year of knowing of the injury or one year of when you reasonably should have known about the injury; and (b) within five years of the date when the alleged malpractice that resulted in your child’s birth injury occurred.
A Birth Injury Case Can Be Dismissed If You Miss the Statute of Limitations
If you try to file a lawsuit after the statute of limitations expires, you can expect that the defense will raise the statute of limitations as a defense. Specifically, the defense lawyers will file a motion to dismiss with the court. The court will grant this motion if the statute of limitations has actually expired. If the motion to dismiss is granted, your child will not recover damages for his birth injury.
Don’t let a missed deadline prevent your child from making a full and fair legal recovery. Instead, contact an experienced birth injury lawyer as soon as you discover that your child may have suffered a birth injury.
Our legal team includes a staff nurse and, together, we will evaluate your child’s claim, advise you of your rights and your child’s potential recovery, and, if appropriate, file a lawsuit on your child’s behalf before the statute of limitation expires. We will make sure that a mistake doesn’t prevent your child’s birth injury recovery.
Call us today to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation and to learn more about protecting your child after a birth injury.
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