As a general rule, the statute of limitations is one year in a negligence case and five or perhaps more years in a contract dispute. The SOL protects plaintiffs and defendants. The longer plaintiffs wait to file claims, the less evidence is available, and the harder it is to prove claims. In other words, the SOL encourages victims not to dawdle. Furthermore, defendants, even though they hurt someone, shouldn’t have to continually look over their shoulders.
The rules are different in some cases. For example, Kentucky, like most other states, has a statute of repose. A SOR makes it almost impossible for construction defect victims to obtain compensation for their injuries. Another loophole, the delayed discovery rule, often applies in other cases, specifically injuries at birth. More on the discovery rule below.
Because of the discovery rule, no matter how much time has passed since the child’s birth, most families can partner with a Lexington personal injury lawyer and obtain the financial compensation they need and deserve. A serious disability often means millions of dollars in lifelong medical bills. Since these injuries weren’t their fault, affected families shouldn’t have to draw on insurance or count on government handouts to pay these bills. 
Delayed Injuries at Birth
Cerebral Palsy, a kind of brain injury, autism, and trauma-related head injuries are the three most common birth injuries in the Bluegrass State. In all these cases, several months or years often pass before families know their children are seriously disabled.
Hypoxia (lack of oxygen to the brain) usually causes CP. If the baby doesn’t naturally drift down the mother’s birth canal during delivery, the umbilical cord restricts the flow of oxygen to the brain. When that happens, CP is only five minutes away.
CP symptoms vary significantly. On one end of the spectrum, children have issues with fine motor skills. They have trouble buttoning shirts and pulling up zippers. On the other end, the child’s brain functions normally, but the child’s body is completely frozen. In other words, these children are basically prisoners in their own bodies.
Just because a child only has mild CP, the child might have a serious injury. One study concluded that CP children were seven times more likely to develop an ASD (autism spectrum disorder). Once again, ASD symptoms vary significantly. They may be barely noticeable or the child may behave like Rain Man. Even mild ASD significantly affects a child’s future.
This same study indicated that preeclampsia (maternal high blood pressure) during pregnancy also increased the ASD risk. Doctors have a duty of care not only to prevent birth injuries, but also to identify prenatal red flags, like preeclampsia, and appropriately respond to them. 
Birth trauma injuries often happen when doctors use dangerous mechanical birth aids in a desperate attempt to avoid hypoxia-related injuries. Forceps are a good example. This mechanical device is basically a pair of surgical salad tongs. When a doctor grabs a baby’s head to yank it out of the mother, the forceps often essentially crush the baby’s skull.
Only developmental delays make injuries like CP, ASD, and brain injuries clearly apparent. When these delays occur, families often don’t connect these delays with a doctor’s negligence. Delayed symptoms and vague cause trigger the discovery rule.
The Discovery Rule and Birth Injury Attorneys
Back to the SOL. This rule makes sense in many cases. People immediately know if they were hurt in a car crash or lost money in a business deal. So, there’s no excuse to delay legal action. Birth injuries, and other medical malpractice injuries, are different. Since babies don’t button their own shirts or socially interact with others, CP and ASD are almost impossible to detect. Furthermore, once families spot these injuries, they usually don’t think their doctor, who they trust, is at fault.
Such situations are tailor made for the discovery rule. The aforementioned two-year clock doesn’t begin ticking until:

Victims are fully aware of all their damages, and
They connect those damages to a tortfeasor’s (negligent actor’s) misconduct.

Dangerous drug injuries are another good example. Assume Tom took Drug X for six months in 2021. In 2022, the makers of Drug X added a warning that the drug could cause cancer. Tom didn’t see the warning because he’s not taking Drug X anymore. In 2025, Tom’s doctor says he has cancer. In 2027, Tom sees a documentary about the link between Drug X and cancer.
Tom has until 2028 to file a legal claim. He knew about his injury and connected his injury to Drug X until 2027.
In addition to the compensatory damages mentioned above, a Lexington personal injury lawyer can often obtain additional punitive damages in these cases. Money is the only language that many doctors, clinics, and hospitals speak. 
In one way or another, the aforementioned injuries occur because the doctor took unsafe shortcuts. These doctors must learn to prioritize patient health and safety above their own profits.
Usually, where there is a wrong, there is a remedy. For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Lexington, contact the Goode Law Office, PLLC. We routinely handle these matters on a nationwide basis.The post How Does the Statute of Limitations Work in Birth Injury Cases? first appeared on Goode Law Office, PLLC.