How Long Do You Have to File a Birth Injury Lawsuit?

If you need to file a birth injury lawsuit, understanding how long you have to take legal action is critical. Birth injuries can vary widely in their severity and impact, with some being immediately noticeable and others only becoming apparent months, years, or even decades later. 

This makes understanding your legal rights—and the timeline for asserting your legal rights—extremely important. 

So, how long do you have to file a birth injury lawsuit? The answer to this question depends on the specific circumstances at hand. Here is an overview of what you need to know about how long you have to file a birth injury lawsuit in Illinois: 

Understanding the Statute of Limitations for Birth Injury Lawsuits in Illinois 

The deadline for filing a birth injury lawsuit in Illinois is determined by the state’s statute of limitations. The statute of limitations places an outer limit on how long you have to take legal action; and, once the statute of limitations expires, you will lose your right to seek the financial compensation you and your family deserve. 

As a starting point, parents in Illinois have eight years from the date of birth to file a birth injury lawsuit—if the injury is immediately apparent at the time of birth or becomes apparent not long after birth. This is significantly longer than the two-year statute of limitations that applies to most types of medical malpractice claims in Illinois, and this is intended to account for the unique challenges involved with diagnosing and understanding the effects of birth injuries. 

However, there are many circumstances in which the deadline for filing a birth injury claim can extend well beyond the child’s eighth birthday. Most of these circumstances will fall into one of two broad categories:

• Birth Injuries Discovered As the Child Grows – When a child’s birth injury is not immediately apparent, Illinois’s two-year “discovery rule” applies. Under this rule, the statute of limitations for filing a birth injury claim does not start to run until the child’s parents discover (or reasonably should have discovered) their child’s injury. Individuals who have been diagnosed with complications from birth injuries later in life may be able to use the discovery rule to file claims as well. 
• Birth Injuries that Cause Permanent Disabilities – When a birth injury causes a permanent disability, the time window for filing a claim can potentially extend for the entirety of the victim’s life. This is because a qualifying disability pauses (or “tolls”) the statute of limitations for the duration of the disability plus two years after the disability ends. Cerebral palsy and other conditions resulting in developmental delays and disorders are examples of birth injuries that will often fall into this category. 

Importantly, regardless of how long you may have to file a birth injury lawsuit, it is generally best to speak with a lawyer as soon as possible. Since plaintiffs in birth injury lawsuits can seek just compensation for their present and future losses, there is no reason to wait. On the other hand, waiting longer than necessary can create unnecessary challenges; and, if you wait too long, you will lose your right to file. An experienced birth injury lawyer will be able to work with your (or your child’s) doctors to ensure that you are seeking the full compensation you deserve.

What Do You Need to File a Birth Injury Claim?

With these timing-related considerations in mind, what information do you need to file a birth injury claim? The answer to this question also varies from one case to the next. Generally speaking, however, the types of documentation that will be needed in a birth injury lawsuit include:

• Medical records from pregnancy, labor, and delivery 
• Medical records related to the birth injury diagnosis and subsequent care 
• Medical bills and documentation of other costs (i.e., therapy, medications, and lost earnings) 
• Documentation of pain, suffering, and emotional trauma 
• Documentation of loss of companionship, loss of consortium, and enjoyment of life

An experienced birth injury lawyer will be able to assist with gathering the documentation you need. Your lawyer will then be able to calculate the value of your birth injury claim and fight to recover just compensation on your behalf. But, it is up to you to take action, and your first step is to schedule a free consultation. 

Discuss Your Legal Rights with an Illinois Birth Injury Lawyer for Free

Due to the complexity of the rules governing birth injury claims in Illinois, we strongly encourage you to contact us if you have any questions about your legal rights. 

Contact Coplan + Crane today online or at 312-982-0588 to schedule a FREE case evaluation. We welcome clients from across Illinois, including Chicago, Oak Park, Rockford, and other areas. We handle these cases on a contingency basis, which means you don’t pay unless we win.