Billings, MontanaBillings Birth Injury
Billings Birth Injury Lawyers: Delivery Injuries, HIE, Cerebral Palsy and NICU Errors in Yellowstone County
Boland Aarab PLLP.
If your baby was hurt during pregnancy, labor or delivery in Billings because the medical team missed warning signs or waited too long to act, you may have a birth injury claim. These are malpractice claims that go through the Montana Medical Legal Panel first. For a child hurt before age 4, the deadline generally starts at the eighth birthday.
Worried that your child’s injury could have been prevented? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Why are so many high-risk births handled in Billings?
Billings is where much of eastern Montana and northern Wyoming sends its most complicated pregnancies and its sickest newborns.
- Two NICUs. Billings Clinic’s Family Birth Center includes a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the McComish Family NICU, next to the birth center (Billings Clinic). Intermountain Health St. Vincent Regional Hospital also operates a neonatal intensive care unit (Intermountain Health).
- Transfers from small hospitals. Many rural hospitals in the region deliver babies but cannot care for a critically ill newborn. When a mother in labor or a newborn in distress is transferred to Billings, the timing of that decision, and of the transport, can decide the outcome.
- Neonatal transport. Both Billings systems run air medical programs, so babies may arrive by plane or helicopter from hundreds of miles away.
That regional role shapes these cases. A birth injury case from Billings may involve prenatal care in one town, labor in another hospital, a transport team, and NICU care in Billings. Each has its own records, and each record has its own electronic audit trail showing who entered what, and when.
The timing questions are especially important with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), a brain injury from lack of oxygen and blood flow. Some babies with HIE are candidates for therapeutic cooling, which must begin within hours of birth to help. Whether a baby born outside Billings was recognized as a candidate, and transferred in time, is often a central question.
What happens after a birth injury in Billings?
- Get the complete records, including the mother’s prenatal and labor records, the full fetal heart-monitoring strips (not just summaries), the baby’s delivery-room and NICU records, and the transport records.
- Request the audit trail. Late entries and edited notes matter in birth cases.
- Keep a care journal. Write down what you were told, by whom, and when. Therapy schedules and out-of-pocket costs will matter later.
- Have the case reviewed by qualified physicians. Montana requires a medical witness in the same or a substantially similar specialty (§ 26-2-601, MCA), often obstetrics, labor and delivery nursing, neonatology and pediatric neurology.
- File with the Medical Legal Panel before suit (§ 27-6-701, MCA).
After the panel, a lawsuit against Billings providers is filed in the Thirteenth Judicial District Court at the Yellowstone County Courthouse, 217 North 27th Street, which serves Yellowstone County (§ 3-5-101, MCA). When care was provided at a federally run facility, such as an Indian Health Service hospital, the claim goes through the Federal Tort Claims Act and any lawsuit is heard in the Billings Division of the U.S. District Court (District of Montana).
If the injured child needs to be represented in court, or a settlement must be approved, the Yellowstone County district court may also be involved in protecting the child’s recovery.
Montana law that applies
- Deadline for children: for a child injured before age 4, the 2-year malpractice period generally begins at the child’s eighth birthday, or at death if sooner (§ 27-2-205(2), MCA). Parents’ own claims and the mother’s injuries may not get the same extension.
- Federal providers: a written claim within 2 years (28 U.S.C. § 2401(b)).
- Panel: filing pauses the deadline (§ 27-6-702, MCA); the decision is not binding and is not evidence at trial (§ 27-6-704, MCA).
- Damages: the lifetime cost of care and lost earning capacity are not capped. Noneconomic damages are capped at $350,000 for claims first filed with the panel in 2026 (§ 25-9-411, MCA).
Our Montana birth injury page explains HIE, cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy and life-care planning in more depth.
Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Billings case?
A birth injury case is a long case, and it needs lawyers who will build it for trial from the start. We are based in Great Falls and handle cases statewide. Our attorneys travel to Billings for depositions, panel hearings, court hearings and trial, and our firm has tried jury trials in Yellowstone County. Some families also value lawyers who are outside the local medical community they are asking questions about. We do not have a Billings office, and we will meet you wherever is easiest for your family, including at home.
The Boland Aarab Way
- We build cases for trial and appeal. When a jury’s $168,500 verdict for our client was thrown out, we had it reinstated by the Montana Supreme Court (Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137). Our appellate record reaches back to 1977.
- We try cases. More than a dozen jury trials in Cascade, Phillips, Meagher and Yellowstone Counties, and more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom.
- We know federal court. More than 40 cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana over nine years, which matters when care was at a federal facility.
- You work with the lawyers. Caitlin Boland Aarab and Samir Aarab handle your family’s case themselves.
Related Billings pages: medical malpractice · brain injury · all Billings personal injury cases
Frequently Asked Questions
My baby was transferred to a Billings NICU after birth. Can the first hospital be responsible? Yes, if its care fell below the standard, including a delay in recognizing the problem or arranging transfer. Each facility’s records and time stamps are reviewed.
Our son was treated in the Billings NICU for HIE. Should we ask about cooling therapy? Yes. Cooling must begin within hours of birth to help, and whether it was considered, offered and started in time is often an important question.
We delivered at an Indian Health Service hospital. Does the Montana panel apply? No. Claims against federal facilities follow the Federal Tort Claims Act, with a 2-year written-claim deadline and a federal-court lawsuit in the Billings Division.
How long do we have to bring a birth injury claim in Billings? For a child injured before age 4, the 2-year period generally starts at the eighth birthday (§ 27-2-205(2), MCA). The mother’s and parents’ own claims may be shorter, so ask early.
Will our case be tried in Billings? A case against Billings providers is usually filed in the Thirteenth Judicial District Court in downtown Billings, after the Medical Legal Panel.
Talk to a Billings Birth Injury Lawyer
Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Our attorneys: Caitlin Boland Aarab · Samir F. Aarab
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
