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August 26, 2026

Statutes and Deadlines for Kentucky Birth Injury Claims

Morrin Law Office
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Birth injury cases can involve several different legal clocks.

There is no single deadline that safely answers every question.

The deadline can depend on:

  • Who owns the claim
  • When the injury was discovered
  • Whether the claimant is a child
  • Whether the child survived
  • Whether the defendant is private or state-affiliated
  • Whether a personal representative must act
  • Whether concealment or another tolling doctrine actually applies
  • Which legal forum has jurisdiction

That is why broad statements such as:

“Kentucky gives you one year,”

or:

“A child’s claim is automatically open until adulthood,”

can both be misleading.

A Kentucky birth injury may involve:

  • The child’s personal medical-malpractice claim
  • A parent’s separate claim
  • A wrongful-death claim
  • A survival claim
  • A claim against a private hospital
  • A claim involving a state institution or state employee

Each needs to be analyzed separately.

This guide explains the major Kentucky statutes families are likely to encounter and how they fit together.

Quick Reference: Kentucky Birth Injury Deadline Rules

Private Medical Malpractice — KRS 413.140

For covered negligence or malpractice claims against physicians, surgeons, dentists, and hospitals, Kentucky generally uses:

One year after the claim accrues.

For medical-malpractice claims, accrual occurs when the injury is:

  • First discovered, or
  • In the exercise of reasonable care should have been discovered.

The Five-Year Language in KRS 413.140

The current statute still contains language stating that a covered malpractice action must be commenced within five years of the negligent act or omission.

However, the Kentucky Supreme Court held that five-year cap unconstitutional in McCollum v. Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Health Corp.

Later Kentucky cases continue to recognize that holding.

It therefore should not be presented as an enforceable five-year statute of repose for private medical-malpractice claims.

Minor’s Own Claim — KRS 413.170

KRS 413.170 can toll certain limitations periods when the person entitled to bring the action was an infant—meaning a minor—when the claim accrued.

But it does not govern every claim connected with an injured child.

State / Board of Claims Medical Malpractice — KRS 49.120

For a medical-malpractice claim properly before Kentucky’s Board of Claims:

  • Filing is generally required within one year after accrual.
  • A discovery rule applies.
  • A three-year outside period applies.
  • A guardian or other representative must file for a minor within that same statutory period.
  • KRS 49.120 expressly overrides ordinary KRS 413.170 minority tolling.

Wrongful Death

Kentucky wrongful-death actions are prosecuted by the decedent’s personal representative under KRS 411.130.

KRS 413.140 and KRS 413.180 also affect timing.

The wrongful-death deadline should not be calculated using the ordinary minority-tolling rule applicable to some claims belonging to a living child.

Certificate of Merit — KRS 411.167

For many private medical-malpractice court actions, Kentucky generally requires a certificate of merit with the complaint, subject to statutory alternatives and exceptions.

The certificate requirement is separate from the statute of limitations.

Concealment / Obstruction — KRS 413.190

Kentucky has statutory tolling for certain absence, concealment, or obstruction.

It is narrow and fact-specific.

It should not be treated as a general extension whenever:

  • Records are difficult to obtain
  • A diagnosis took time
  • A provider later left Kentucky

Kentucky’s One-Year Medical-Malpractice Statute

The starting point for many private birth injury claims is KRS 413.140.

The current statute, effective July 15, 2026, states that covered negligence or malpractice actions against a:

  • Physician
  • Surgeon
  • Dentist
  • Hospital licensed under KRS Chapter 216

generally must be commenced within one year after the cause of action accrued.

What Does “Accrued” Mean?

For the malpractice claims covered by KRS 413.140(1)(e), subsection (2) provides that the cause of action accrues when the injury is:

  • First discovered, or
  • Through the exercise of reasonable care should have been discovered.

That is usually called Kentucky’s discovery rule.

Discovery of Harm Is Not Always the Same as Discovery of a Legal Injury

This distinction matters in medical-malpractice cases.

A patient or parent may know that something medically bad occurred without knowing that it may have resulted from negligent medical care.

Kentucky courts have discussed the distinction between:

  • Merely knowing that an adverse medical result occurred, and
  • Having enough information that the injury and its possible relationship to medical treatment reasonably should be investigated.

The facts control.

For a birth injury case, potentially relevant dates can include:

  • Date of birth
  • NICU diagnosis
  • MRI result
  • Neurological diagnosis
  • Diagnosis of cerebral palsy
  • Discovery of a prior stroke
  • Identification of hearing loss
  • Later medical explanation connecting injury to birth care

None of those dates automatically becomes the legal accrual date merely because it appears in the chart.

Important: The Five-Year Cap in the Statute Was Held Unconstitutional

KRS 413.140(2) still contains a sentence stating that a medical-malpractice action must be commenced within five years of the alleged negligent act or omission.

That language should not be quoted without explaining the case law.

In McCollum v. Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Health Corp., the Kentucky Supreme Court held the five-year portion unconstitutional under Kentucky’s open-courts protections.

The Court reasoned that a claim could otherwise be extinguished before the injured person had any reasonable opportunity to discover that a legal injury existed.

Kentucky appellate opinions issued after McCollum continue to recognize that the five-year cap was invalidated.

Why Is Unconstitutional Language Still Printed in the Statute?

Statutory databases sometimes continue to display language that has been declared unconstitutional by a court.

That does not erase the judicial holding.

For a publishable Kentucky deadline page, the accurate statement is:

KRS 413.140 contains five-year language, but the Kentucky Supreme Court held that portion unconstitutional.

It should not be described simply as an enforceable “five-year outside deadline.”

Does Minority Tolling Protect an Injured Child?

Sometimes.

KRS 413.170 addresses legal disability.

It provides that if the person entitled to bring an action covered by KRS 413.090 through 413.160 was:

  • An infant, or
  • Of unsound mind

when the cause of action accrued, the action may be brought within the same period after the disability is removed or the person dies, whichever occurs first.

Kentucky generally uses 18 years old as the age of majority, subject to statutory exceptions.

Because KRS 413.140 falls within the statutes covered by KRS 413.170, the statute can materially affect a child’s own private medical-malpractice claim.

Why We Do Not Say “The Clock Simply Stops Until Age 18”

That shorthand can become dangerous.

A birth injury may involve several different claims.

KRS 413.170 may affect the child’s own personal claim, while another claim may belong to:

  • A parent
  • An estate
  • A personal representative
  • Another legally distinct claimant

Those claims do not automatically inherit the child’s disability.

Different statutory systems can also override KRS 413.170.

The most important example is Kentucky’s Board of Claims statute.

The Parent’s Claim Is Not Necessarily Tolled With the Child’s Claim

A child’s medical expenses, injury, and disability may create several legally distinct interests.

A parent may have an independent claim involving a loss personally suffered by the parent.

Whether that particular claim exists and how it is measured depends on Kentucky law and the facts.

But the important deadline point is:

A parent’s claim should not automatically be treated as though the parent were a minor simply because the injured child is a minor.

Each claimant’s limitations period must be evaluated independently.

State Hospitals and State-Affiliated Providers Can Have Very Different Rules

Kentucky’s ordinary private medical-malpractice rules are not the only possible framework.

Claims involving the Commonwealth or a state agency may fall within the Kentucky Board of Claims.

The Board of Claims is currently administered through the Kentucky Office of Claims and Appeals.

Older materials may refer to a “Kentucky Claims Commission,” but that is not the current name of the negligence forum.

University of Kentucky and State-Institution Claims

This issue can be particularly important for birth injury cases involving care at the University of Kentucky.

Under KRS 49.070, state institutions of higher education under KRS Chapter 164 are treated as state agencies for purposes of the Board of Claims statutes.

The Board has primary and exclusive jurisdiction over certain negligence claims involving:

  • The Commonwealth
  • State agencies
  • Officers
  • Agents
  • Employees acting within the scope of state employment

This Does Not Mean Every UK HealthCare Claim Belongs Before the Board

A patient treated at a state-affiliated hospital may encounter:

  • State-employed physicians
  • Private medical groups
  • Contractors
  • Independent healthcare entities
  • Other providers with different legal status

KRS 49.070 specifically distinguishes independent contractors from state employees in important respects.

A claim therefore must be analyzed by:

  • Defendant
  • Employer
  • Scope of employment
  • Alleged negligent act

rather than simply by the name on the hospital building.

Board of Claims Medical-Malpractice Deadlines

KRS 49.120 contains its own statute of limitations.

All Board claims generally must be filed within one year after accrual.

For medical malpractice, the statute provides that the claim accrues when the personal injury is:

  • First discovered, or
  • Through reasonable care should have been discovered.

But unlike the private malpractice framework after McCollum, the Board statute expressly contains a three-year outside limitation for medical-malpractice claims.

Minority Does Not Extend the Board of Claims Deadline

This is one of the most important exceptions on this page.

KRS 49.120 states that when a claimant is:

  • An infant
  • Of unsound mind
  • Under another legal disability

a guardian, next friend, committee, or other qualified representative must bring the claim within the same Board limitations period.

The statute expressly says this applies:

notwithstanding KRS 413.170.

That means ordinary minority tolling does not protect a Board of Claims medical-malpractice claim in the same manner as certain private malpractice claims.

What if You File With the Board and the Board Says It Has No Jurisdiction?

KRS 49.070 contains an important protective provision.

If the Board of Claims ultimately determines that it does not have primary and exclusive jurisdiction over the negligence claim, the applicable limitations period for bringing the action in another Kentucky court or forum is tolled while that jurisdictional determination is pending.

That provision can become significant in complicated cases involving disputed state-employment status.

It is not a reason to intentionally choose the wrong forum.

Correct defendant identification remains important from the beginning.

Board of Claims Damage Limits

The Board system is also different in ways beyond filing deadlines.

Under KRS 49.040:

  • A single claim or award generally cannot exceed $250,000.
  • When one negligent act causes multiple claims, the aggregate recovery generally cannot exceed $400,000.
  • No individual claimant may receive more than $250,000 under that statutory framework.

Those limits are specific to the Board of Claims.

They should not be presented as Kentucky’s general damages cap for private medical-malpractice litigation.

Wrongful Death Has Its Own Deadline Analysis

When a newborn dies, the legal analysis changes substantially.

Under KRS 411.130, a Kentucky wrongful-death action is prosecuted by the deceased person’s:

personal representative.

The parents do not simply file the child’s personal injury claim in their own names.

Kentucky Wrongful-Death Timing: KRS 413.140 and KRS 413.180

Kentucky Supreme Court precedent applies the one-year personal-injury limitations framework in KRS 413.140 to wrongful-death actions.

But KRS 413.180 can provide additional time associated with qualification of the personal representative.

Under KRS 413.180:

  • If a person entitled to bring a covered claim dies before the original limitations period expires and the claim survives, the personal representative can bring the action within one year after qualification.
  • If more than one year passes before the representative qualifies in circumstances addressed by subsection (2), the representative is treated as having qualified on the final day of the one-year period.

Kentucky Supreme Court cases including Conner v. George W. Whitesides Co. and Estate of Wittich v. Flick explain the interaction.

In the usual wrongful-death formulation, the courts have described the deadline as beginning with qualification of the representative while imposing a practical outside framework that does not ordinarily extend beyond two years from death.

Do Not Treat “Two Years” as an Automatic Wrongful-Death Rule

Other issues can affect accrual or tolling.

For example:

  • Concealment
  • Obstruction
  • Timing of claim accrual
  • Survival claims
  • Defendant identity

can create additional questions.

The correct lesson is not:

“Wrongful death always has two years.”

It is:

Wrongful-death timing must be analyzed under KRS 411.130, KRS 413.140, KRS 413.180, and applicable Kentucky case law.

Minority Tolling Does Not Automatically Extend Wrongful Death

A wrongful-death claim belongs to the statutory cause of action prosecuted by the personal representative.

It should not be treated as though the deceased child’s minority simply continues to suspend the claim.

This is one reason fatal birth injury cases need immediate deadline review.

Kentucky Survival Claims Are Separate From Wrongful Death

Kentucky also has a survival statute.

Under KRS 411.140, most personal-injury causes of action do not disappear merely because the injured person dies.

They can be brought or continued through the personal representative.

A survival claim and wrongful-death claim can address different damages and legal interests.

They can also create different timing questions.

A fatal birth injury case should therefore be evaluated for both:

  • Wrongful-death issues, and
  • Any surviving personal-injury cause of action

rather than assuming they are identical.

Kentucky Has Additional Damages for Wrongful Death of a Minor

KRS 411.135 provides that in a wrongful-death action involving a minor child, surviving parents may recover loss of affection and companionship that would have been derived from the child during minority, in addition to other recoverable wrongful-death damages.

That statute does not create the filing deadline.

It is nevertheless an important part of Kentucky’s statutory framework for a fatal birth injury.

Fraudulent Concealment and Obstruction: KRS 413.190

Kentucky also has tolling provisions addressing certain situations where a defendant is absent or obstructs the prosecution of a claim.

KRS 413.190 applies to actions within KRS 413.090 through 413.160.

Absence From Kentucky

Subsection (1) addresses a cause of action against a Kentucky resident who is absent from the state when the claim accrues.

The statutory language calculates the limitations period from the person’s return.

That should not be simplified into:

“Any time a doctor moves out of Kentucky, the deadline stops.”

The actual statutory requirements must be satisfied.

Concealment or Obstruction

Subsection (2) applies when a Kentucky resident:

  • Absconds
  • Conceals himself or herself
  • Uses another indirect means

to obstruct prosecution of the action.

The period of obstruction is excluded when the statutory requirements are met.

What Counts as Concealment?

Kentucky decisions generally require meaningful obstructive conduct.

The Kentucky Supreme Court has explained that concealment ordinarily involves an affirmative act.

An exception can exist where the defendant had a legal duty to disclose and failure to disclose itself becomes misleading or obstructive.

In Munday v. Mayfair Diagnostic Laboratory and later cases, Kentucky courts discussed those principles.

Delayed Medical Records Do Not Automatically Toll the Deadline

This is particularly important in birth injury litigation.

In Sneed v. University of Louisville Hospital, the plaintiff argued that delayed production of medical records tolled her malpractice limitations period.

The Kentucky Supreme Court rejected the tolling argument under the facts because she already possessed enough information about the injury and its suspected cause to pursue a claim.

The lesson is:

Difficulty obtaining records does not automatically stop Kentucky’s statute of limitations.

This is separate from the special certificate-of-merit records provision in KRS 411.167.

Continuous Treatment Can Affect Accrual in Some Cases

Kentucky also recognizes a continuous course of treatment doctrine in appropriate medical-malpractice circumstances.

In Harrison v. Valentini, the Kentucky Supreme Court explained that continued treatment by the allegedly negligent physician for the same injury can delay discovery in a proper case.

But the doctrine is limited.

In Sneed, the Court declined to expand it simply because the patient continued receiving treatment at the same hospital from other physicians.

For birth injury claims, the doctrine should therefore not be assumed to extend the deadline merely because:

  • The child remained in the hospital
  • The child later saw other doctors in the same health system
  • Follow-up continued for months or years

The relationship and treatment at issue matter.

Kentucky’s Certificate-of-Merit Requirement

A statute of limitations tells you when a case must be filed.

The certificate of merit addresses what ordinarily must accompany the filing.

Those are separate issues.

Under KRS 411.167, a claimant commencing an action identified in KRS 413.140(1)(e) generally must file a certificate of merit with the complaint.

What Is a Certificate of Merit?

The ordinary certificate is an affidavit or declaration stating that:

  • The claimant reviewed the facts.
  • The claimant or counsel consulted at least one qualified expert.
  • The expert is qualified under Kentucky procedural and evidentiary rules.
  • The expert is knowledgeable about the relevant standard-of-care or negligence issues.
  • The review and consultation support a reasonable basis for commencing the action.

Does Every Defendant Need a Separate Certificate?

No.

KRS 411.167 specifically states that one certificate is required for the action, even if:

  • More than one defendant is originally named, or
  • Additional defendants are later added.

What if the Filing Deadline Is Too Close to Obtain an Expert Consultation?

KRS 411.167 provides an alternative.

If a Chapter 413 limitation would bar the action and the required consultation could not reasonably be obtained before expiration, a claimant can submit the affidavit or declaration authorized by subsection (2)(b).

The filing must then generally be supplemented with the required supporting affidavit or another statutory alternative within:

60 days after service of the complaint

unless the court grants additional time for good cause.

What if Experts Refuse to Consult?

Another alternative applies when the claimant or attorney made at least:

three separate good-faith attempts with three different experts

to obtain a consultation and none agreed, provided none gave an opinion that there was no reasonable basis to commence the action.

What if the Claim Does Not Require Expert Testimony?

KRS 411.167 has an exception when the claimant intends to rely solely on causes of action for which expert testimony is not required.

The statute gives examples such as:

  • Res ipsa loquitur
  • Lack of informed consent

The complaint must then include the affidavit or declaration required by the statute.

Complex birth injury cases generally involve expert medical questions, so this exception should not be assumed.

What if the Hospital Has Not Produced the Medical Records?

KRS 411.167 contains a special records provision.

When:

  1. The claimant requested records of medical treatment from the defendants, and
  2. Those records have not been produced,

the claimant is not required to file the certificate until 90 days after the records have been produced.

The statute expressly says “records” include, among other things:

  • Paper records
  • Electronic records
  • Dictations
  • Video recordings
  • Fetal heart monitor strips
  • Imaging studies

The Records Provision Does Not Automatically Extend the Statute of Limitations

This distinction is critical.

KRS 411.167 addresses timing of the certificate of merit.

It should not automatically be read as giving an additional 90 days to file an otherwise time-barred lawsuit.

A lawyer evaluating a deadline should separately analyze:

  • KRS 413.140
  • Applicable tolling
  • KRS 411.167

rather than treating them as one clock.

Does the Certificate-of-Merit Statute Apply the Same Way to the Board of Claims?

Do not automatically import the ordinary court procedure into a Board claim.

KRS 411.167 is written in terms of commencing specified malpractice actions and filing the certificate with the complaint in court.

Board of Claims negligence cases proceed under:

  • KRS Chapter 49
  • 802 KAR 2:010
  • Office of Claims and Appeals procedures

The correct filing requirements for a state claim should therefore be analyzed independently.

Kentucky Does Not Require a Medical Review Panel

Kentucky once enacted a mandatory Medical Review Panel Act.

The panel procedure would have required many malpractice claimants to submit their claims to a medical review panel before obtaining immediate access to court.

In Commonwealth ex rel. Meier v. Claycomb, the Kentucky Supreme Court held the statute unconstitutional.

The Court concluded that the mandatory delay violated Section 14 of the Kentucky Constitution.

There is therefore no current mandatory medical-review-panel prerequisite for filing an ordinary Kentucky medical-malpractice action.

Did Kentucky Create a New Medical-Malpractice Pre-Suit Notice Requirement in 2026?

No.

This deserves clarification because anyone reading only the introduced version of 2026 Senate Bill 195 could reach the wrong conclusion.

The original bill proposed:

  • Medical-malpractice prelitigation notice
  • A written medical opinion requirement
  • Amendments to KRS 411.167
  • Amendments to KRS 413.140

But Senate Committee Substitute 1 removed the medical-malpractice provisions.

The version that ultimately became law in April 2026 did not create the proposed general medical-malpractice pre-suit notice or written-opinion system.

The existing KRS 411.167 certificate-of-merit requirement remains relevant.

Kentucky’s Current Expert Rule: KRE 702

Birth injury cases usually depend heavily on expert medical testimony.

The Kentucky Supreme Court amended KRE 702 effective July 1, 2024.

Under the current rule, the party offering an expert must demonstrate to the court that it is more likely than not that:

  1. The testimony is based on sufficient facts or data.
  2. The testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods.
  3. The opinion reflects a reliable application of those principles and methods to the facts of the case.

This matters to deadlines because a birth injury case should not be filed at the last moment with no realistic plan for reliable medical proof.

Which Experts May Be Needed?

Depending on the allegations, expert review can involve:

  • Obstetrics
  • Maternal-fetal medicine
  • Labor and delivery nursing
  • Neonatology
  • Pediatric neurology
  • Neuroradiology
  • Pediatric cardiology
  • Pediatric infectious disease
  • Orthopedics
  • Life-care planning
  • Economics

One expert may not be able to support every medical issue.

Comparative Fault Does Not Extend the Filing Deadline

KRS 411.182 governs allocation of fault in Kentucky tort actions involving more than one at-fault party.

It may affect:

  • Apportionment
  • Damages
  • Released parties

It does not by itself extend the statute of limitations.

This can become important in a birth injury case involving:

  • Several physicians
  • A hospital
  • Nurses
  • An anesthesia group
  • Another healthcare entity

Each defendant still needs to be identified and evaluated within the applicable filing framework.

Transfer to Another Hospital Does Not Automatically Restart the Deadline

A child may be transferred from the birth hospital to a tertiary center such as:

  • Golisano Children’s at UK in Lexington
  • Norton Children’s Hospital in Louisville

Transfer records can be very important evidence.

They may show:

  • When deterioration was recognized
  • What diagnosis was suspected
  • What the parents were told
  • When imaging occurred
  • When the injury became medically apparent

But a transfer itself does not automatically:

  • Start a new statute
  • Restart an old statute
  • Extend the deadline

Its significance depends on what the transfer reveals about discovery and the claim.

A Practical Kentucky Birth Injury Deadline Checklist

1. Identify the Date of the Alleged Medical Error

Write down:

  • Birth date
  • Dates of prenatal care at issue
  • Labor events
  • Delivery
  • Newborn treatment
  • Discharge
  • Readmission

2. Identify When the Injury Was First Known

Potential dates include:

  • HIE diagnosis
  • Seizure diagnosis
  • Stroke diagnosis
  • MRI
  • Severe bilirubin elevation
  • Kernicterus diagnosis
  • Brachial plexus diagnosis
  • Skull fracture
  • Sepsis diagnosis
  • Developmental diagnosis

3. Identify When a Connection to Medical Care Became Knowable

The relevant discovery issue may involve more than simply knowing the child had a disability.

Preserve:

  • Physician explanations
  • Referral notes
  • Imaging reports
  • Specialist notes
  • Statements concerning possible cause

4. Identify Every Potential Claimant

Ask whether a possible claim belongs to:

  • Child
  • Mother
  • Father
  • Estate
  • Personal representative

Do not use one claimant’s tolling rule for everyone else.

5. Identify Every Potential Defendant

Determine whether the provider or institution is:

  • Private
  • State agency
  • State employee
  • Private contractor
  • Independent medical group

6. Determine the Correct Forum

Possible forums can include:

  • Kentucky Circuit Court
  • Kentucky Board of Claims

7. Determine Whether Minority Tolling Actually Applies

Evaluate KRS 413.170 only after identifying:

  • The actual claimant
  • Type of action
  • Defendant
  • Forum

8. Check Fatal-Injury Statutes Separately

If the child died, review:

  • KRS 411.130
  • KRS 411.140
  • KRS 413.140
  • KRS 413.180

and applicable wrongful-death case law.

9. Check for Genuine Tolling Issues

If concealment is suspected, identify:

  • Specific act
  • Date
  • Defendant who allegedly concealed
  • How it prevented timely prosecution

Do not rely on vague suspicion.

10. Request Records Immediately

Request:

  • Complete fetal monitor strips
  • Oxytocin records
  • Anesthesia
  • Operative records
  • Cord gases
  • Resuscitation
  • NICU
  • MRI
  • EEG
  • Transport records

Keep proof of the requests.

11. Obtain Expert Review

Do not wait until the final days of an uncertain deadline to begin looking for appropriate experts.

12. Address the Certificate of Merit

Determine whether:

  • Ordinary certificate applies
  • Deadline-based alternative applies
  • Three-expert alternative applies
  • No-expert cause-of-action exception applies
  • Records provision applies

Frequently Asked Questions About Kentucky Birth Injury Deadlines

What is Kentucky’s statute of limitations for medical malpractice?

For covered private medical-malpractice claims, KRS 413.140 generally requires filing within one year after accrual.

For malpractice, accrual occurs when the injury is first discovered or reasonably should have been discovered.

Does Kentucky have a five-year statute of repose for medical malpractice?

The current statutory text still contains five-year language.

However, the Kentucky Supreme Court held that five-year cap unconstitutional in McCollum v. Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Health Corp.

It therefore should not be presented as an enforceable five-year private medical-malpractice deadline.

Why is the five-year language still printed in the statute?

Courts can hold part of a statute unconstitutional even though the codified text remains visible.

The court decision must be considered together with the statutory language.

Does a child’s malpractice deadline wait until adulthood?

KRS 413.170 can toll certain claims belonging to a minor.

But that rule does not automatically apply to every claim arising from a birth injury.

What age is majority in Kentucky?

Kentucky generally sets the age of majority at 18, subject to specific statutory exceptions.

Does KRS 413.170 apply to a parent’s claim?

Not automatically.

Minority belongs to the child, not the adult parent.

Each claimant needs a separate analysis.

Does minority tolling apply to UK HealthCare claims?

Not necessarily.

If a claim falls within the Kentucky Board of Claims system, KRS 49.120 expressly requires a representative to bring a minor’s claim within the Board’s statutory deadline notwithstanding KRS 413.170.

What is the Board of Claims deadline for medical malpractice?

Generally:

  • One year after accrual
  • Discovery-based accrual
  • Three-year outside limit for medical-malpractice claims

under KRS 49.120.

Is the Kentucky Claims Commission still the correct name?

No.

The current negligence forum is the Board of Claims, which is part of the Kentucky Office of Claims and Appeals.

Older material may still use “Kentucky Claims Commission.”

Does every UK HealthCare claim go to the Board of Claims?

No.

Provider employment, contractor status, entity identity, scope of employment, and the alleged negligent act all matter.

What if the Board of Claims decides it does not have jurisdiction?

KRS 49.070 provides tolling of the applicable limitation for filing in another Kentucky court or forum while the Board’s final jurisdictional determination is pending.

What is Kentucky’s wrongful-death deadline for a newborn?

There is no safe answer based only on the phrase “wrongful death.”

KRS 411.130, KRS 413.140, KRS 413.180, appointment of the personal representative, accrual, and applicable case law need to be considered.

Is wrongful death automatically tolled because the child was a minor?

No.

The wrongful-death action is prosecuted by the personal representative and should not be treated as the same thing as the injured child’s personal claim.

Can a wrongful-death case sometimes have up to two years from death?

Kentucky Supreme Court precedent discussing KRS 413.180 has described a practical outside framework of up to two years from death in the usual wrongful-death situation involving appointment of a personal representative.

That should not be converted into a universal “two-year rule” without reviewing the facts.

What is a survival claim?

KRS 411.140 provides for survival of most personal-injury causes of action after the injured person’s death.

A survival claim is legally distinct from the wrongful-death action.

Does concealment stop the statute?

Potentially, when the requirements of KRS 413.190 and Kentucky case law are satisfied.

The doctrine is narrow and requires evidence of qualifying obstruction or concealment.

Does the hospital’s failure to send my records automatically toll the deadline?

No.

The Kentucky Supreme Court’s decision in Sneed demonstrates why delayed record production does not automatically toll a malpractice limitations period.

What if my doctor moved out of Kentucky?

Do not assume the deadline stops.

KRS 413.190 has specific language concerning a Kentucky resident’s absence or obstruction, and its applicability requires individualized analysis.

Does continuing medical treatment toll a claim?

Kentucky recognizes a continuous-treatment doctrine in appropriate circumstances involving continued treatment by the physician for the condition at issue.

The Kentucky Supreme Court has declined to expand it automatically to treatment by other physicians merely because care continues at the same hospital.

Does Kentucky require a certificate of merit?

For many medical-malpractice court actions covered by KRS 413.140(1)(e), yes.

KRS 411.167 generally requires a certificate with the complaint, subject to its statutory alternatives and exceptions.

Do I need one certificate per doctor?

No.

The statute states that a single certificate is sufficient for the action even when multiple defendants are named.

What if I cannot get an expert before the statute expires?

KRS 411.167 contains a deadline-based alternative permitting an affidavit or declaration in specified circumstances, followed by supplementation generally within 60 days after service.

What if the defendant has not produced the medical records?

KRS 411.167 provides that the certificate is not required until 90 days after requested treatment records are produced.

Do not assume that provision extends the statute of limitations itself.

Does Kentucky require a medical review panel?

No.

The Kentucky Supreme Court held the former mandatory medical-review-panel statute unconstitutional in Meier v. Claycomb.

Did SB 195 create a 2026 pre-suit notice rule for medical malpractice?

No.

Those provisions appeared in the original bill but were removed before the legislation was enacted.

What is KRE 702?

KRE 702 governs expert testimony in Kentucky.

Since July 1, 2024, the proponent must demonstrate to the court that the testimony more likely than not rests on sufficient facts or data, reliable principles and methods, and reliable application to the facts.

Why do experts matter to the deadline?

Because most birth injury claims cannot responsibly be evaluated or filed without medical expertise concerning:

  • Standard of care
  • Breach
  • Causation

Waiting until the deadline is nearly over can make that process much more difficult.

How Morrin Law Office Evaluates Kentucky Birth Injury Deadlines

A deadline analysis should occur before assumptions are made about the medical merits of the case.

Our review may involve:

  1. Identifying the date of every potentially negligent act or omission.
  2. Identifying when each injury was discovered.
  3. Identifying when the connection between injury and medical care reasonably became discoverable.
  4. Separating the child’s claim from any parent’s claim.
  5. Determining whether a wrongful-death or survival claim exists.
  6. Identifying the proper personal representative where required.
  7. Identifying every potentially responsible provider and healthcare entity.
  8. Determining whether each defendant is private, governmental, state-employed, or a contractor.
  9. Determining whether Circuit Court or the Board of Claims has jurisdiction.
  10. Analyzing KRS 413.140 and the discovery rule.
  11. Applying McCollum’s invalidation of the statutory five-year cap.
  12. Analyzing KRS 413.170 minority tolling where applicable.
  13. Applying KRS 49.120 separately to Board of Claims cases.
  14. Analyzing KRS 413.180 when a personal representative is involved.
  15. Evaluating any legitimate KRS 413.190 concealment or obstruction issue.
  16. Considering continuous-treatment case law where relevant.
  17. Requesting and preserving medical records.
  18. Keeping proof of requests relevant to KRS 411.167.
  19. Obtaining qualified expert review.
  20. Determining which certificate-of-merit procedure applies.
  21. Confirming that no outdated medical-review-panel or proposed SB 195 requirement is being applied.
  22. Calendaring the earliest reasonably possible deadline rather than relying on the most generous interpretation.

A strong medical case can still be lost if it is filed in the wrong forum or after the applicable deadline.

Likewise, a deadline that initially appears expired may require further analysis involving:

  • Discovery
  • Minority
  • Personal-representative timing
  • Concealment
  • Defendant status

The goal is to determine the correct rule from the actual facts rather than relying on a generic online deadline.

Talk With Morrin Law Office About a Kentucky Birth Injury Deadline

If your child suffered a serious birth injury and you have questions about when a claim must be filed, Morrin Law Office can review the dates, defendants, medical records, and potential legal forum and discuss the next steps.

Morrin Law Office
214 W. Main St.
Richmond, KY 40475
Phone: 859-358-0300

Sources

Disclaimer

This page provides general public information about Kentucky statutes of limitation, tolling, wrongful death, the Board of Claims, certificates of merit, and expert testimony in birth injury cases. It is not legal advice or medical advice.

Deadline analysis is highly fact-specific. Statutory language may also be affected by court decisions—for example, the five-year language still appearing in KRS 413.140 was held unconstitutional by the Kentucky Supreme Court.

A child’s own malpractice claim, a parent’s claim, a wrongful-death claim, a survival claim, and a Board of Claims matter can all have different filing rules.

Laws and court decisions can change. Families with questions about a possible Kentucky birth injury claim should consider obtaining individualized legal advice promptly rather than relying on a generalized online deadline.

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