When your child suffers a birth injury during the labor and delivery process, it changes far more than just the birth plan you and your child’s other parent carefully laid out. A serious birth injury also changes your expectations for your child’s life. Depending on the type and severity of the injury, it could leave your child and your family facing an uncertain future.
There is a lot to deal with during the early months after an injured child’s birth, but parents of birth-injured children should understand the time limit they have for legal action.
What is the Statute of Limitations for Birth Injuries in Arizona?
How Long Do Parents Have to File a Birth Injury Claim In Arizona?
A birth-injured child has substantial medical needs that may continue for months, years, or a lifetime. Depending on the severity of the injury, they may also require adaptive equipment, therapies, and special education. Their exceptional needs may also require a parent to take time away from work, work reduced hours, or leave the workplace entirely to provide full-time care. A successful birth injury claim results in a settlement or court award for these damages, plus additional compensation for the parents’ emotional anguish. However, the court will toss out a case filed after the statute of limitations has passed.
In Arizona, parents generally have up to two years from the date of their child’s birth injury to file a claim, but a common exception applies. Because a birth injury may not be identified until a child misses milestones or shows other symptoms, the delayed discovery rule applies. In these cases, the parents have two years from the date of the diagnosis or discovery of the birth injury to file a claim.
How Long Does a Child Have to File Their Own Birth Injury Claim In Arizona?
While a parent may file a birth injury claim within the two-year statute of limitations to recover their financial losses and compensation for the emotional anguish of having an injured child, this does not address the child’s personal pain, suffering, and permanent disability. If a birth-injured child chooses to file a birth injury claim against the negligent doctor or medical facility, they have up to two years from their 18th birthday to file a claim. Under this statute of limitations for Arizona birth injury cases, a child has until age 20 to file their claim.
What If My Child’s Birth Injury Caused Their Death?
If a birth injury causes stillbirth or a birth-injured child dies from injuries they suffered during the labor and delivery process due to a doctor’s negligence, the parents have the right to file a wrongful death claim against the negligent doctor or medical facility. The statute of limitations for wrongful death claims in Arizona is two years from the date of the death.
Why Have Time Limits on Arizona Birth Injury Claims?
Like other states, Arizona places time limits on personal injury claims, including medical malpractice cases and birth injury claims. The state’s statute of limitations serves several purposes. It ensures that evidence remains available and eyewitness testimony remains fresh when a case is under investigation by the insurance company and the claimant’s attorney, or when it goes to court. The statute of limitations also protects defendants from living under the long-term threat of lawsuits.