Utah’s Birth Injury Statute of Limitations By on September 30, 2015

All personal injury claims, including those arising from birth injuries, are governed by time limits imposed by laws known as statutes of limitations. If you are a parent of a child who was born with cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, or another type of birth injury, and you believe that this injury may have been the result of medical malpractice, then it is essential that you understand how your state’s statute of limitations regarding birth injury cases affects your rights. If you fail to file your birth injury claim within the time limit imposed by your state’s statute of limitations, you permanently forfeit your right to seek compensation for your child’s birth injuries through the civil court system. That is, under no circumstances can you file a personal injury claim against the medical professional or professionals that harmed your child - period.

Medical malpractice attorney Norman J. Younker has extensive experience and a history of success in handling birth injury cases on behalf of residents of Utah, helping them to understand their legal rights and options and to file their claims within the time limits set within the state’s birth injury statutes of limitations. At his Salt Lake City law office, he works with a team of experienced medical malpractice lawyers, each of whom has an impressive track record in helping families just like yours obtain the full measure of compensation to which they are entitled under the law.

If your child suffered a birth injury due to the negligent actions or inactions of your birthing team, time is not on your side. Even if you are unsure as to whether you intend to pursue legal action, you owe it to yourself to know your rights and options. We invite you to have your potential birth injury case evaluated by one of our accomplished medical malpractice attorneys today.

What is the Utah birth injury statute of limitations?

In Utah, the statute of limitations states that you must file a birth injury claim within either two years of the injury or two years of reasonable discovery of the injury. No birth injury claim may be filed after four years from the actual date of the injury. Therefore, if the injury occurred at birth and is discovered five years later, a birth injury claim cannot be filed, even if the discovery of the injury at that date is considered “reasonable.”

Wrongful death cases involving infants must be filed within two years of the infant’s death.

Statutes of limitations are established to protect the integrity of evidence and ensure that cases are filed in a timely manner. Even though there may be circumstances under which the forfeiture to file a claim may seem unjust, statutes of limitations have been a fundamental part of the American justice system since its inception. Ultimately, it is the injured party’s responsibility to take action in a timely manner.