Helena, MontanaHelena Birth Injury
Helena Birth Injury Lawyers: HIE, Cerebral Palsy, Erb’s Palsy and Delivery Errors in Lewis and Clark County
Boland Aarab PLLP.
A Helena birth injury claim is a medical malpractice claim, and it usually must go to the Montana Medical Legal Panel, in Helena, before any lawsuit. St. Peter’s Health runs Helena’s only labor and delivery unit, so most cases begin with its records. For a baby injured before age 4, the 2-year deadline generally starts at age 8.
Key Takeaways
- Birth injury claims usually must be submitted to the Montana Medical Legal Panel before suit (§ 27-6-701, MCA).
- For a child injured before age 4, the 2-year malpractice period generally begins at the child’s eighth birthday, or at the child’s death if that comes first (§ 27-2-205(2), MCA).
- The key evidence (fetal heart monitoring strips, nursing notes and the electronic audit trail) is in the hospital’s hands.
Worried that your child’s injury in Helena could have been prevented? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Where are babies born in Helena, and why does it matter?
St. Peter’s Health describes its Women and Children’s Unit as “Helena’s only Labor and Delivery Unit.” According to the hospital, the unit has nine private labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum suites, a cesarean-section operating room on the birthing floor, and a Special Care Nursery it describes as a Level 2 neonatal intensive care unit. The hospital says it serves a five-county area. Families from surrounding counties may deliver in Helena too.
Those facts shape a Helena birth injury case in concrete ways:
- One set of records. Most Helena births happen in one unit, under one set of protocols. We obtain the complete labor record: the fetal heart-rate tracing in its native electronic form, the nursing flowsheets, Pitocin dosing, the timing of calls to the physician and the timing of the decision to deliver.
- The C-section timeline. With an operating room on the birthing floor, the question in a delayed-delivery case is precise: when did the tracing show distress, when was the decision to deliver made, and how long did it take from decision to incision?
- The Level 2 nursery and transfers. A Level 2 nursery can care for many sick and premature newborns, but some babies need a higher level of intensive care than it provides and must be transferred out of Helena. For a baby with suspected HIE, therapeutic cooling must begin within hours of birth to help. How quickly the baby was evaluated, whether cooling was considered, and how the transfer was arranged are often central questions.
- Prenatal care across the region. Mothers may see providers in smaller towns during pregnancy and come to Helena to deliver. Missed preeclampsia, gestational diabetes or growth problems in prenatal care can be part of the case, and each provider’s records must be gathered.
None of this means any particular provider did anything wrong. Many birth injuries cannot be prevented. The records tell us which ones could have been.
What happens after a birth injury in Helena?
Records first. Request the mother’s and baby’s complete records from every provider, including the monitoring strips. Do not rely on a summary.
Expert review. Birth injury cases need review by physicians in obstetrics, neonatology, pediatric neurology and neuroradiology. Montana has strict rules on who may testify about the standard of care (§ 26-2-601, MCA).
The Medical Legal Panel. The panel’s office is at 2021 Eleventh Avenue in Helena. A written application goes there before any lawsuit against physicians or licensed facilities (§ 27-6-301, MCA). Filing it pauses the deadline (§ 27-6-702, MCA). The process is confidential, and the decision is not binding.
The lawsuit. After the panel, a case arising from a Helena delivery is generally filed in the First Judicial District Court at the Lewis and Clark County Courthouse, 228 Broadway (§ 3-5-101(1), MCA). A case involving a federal provider follows the Federal Tort Claims Act instead, in the U.S. District Court’s Helena Division at the Paul G. Hatfield Federal Courthouse.
The child’s future. A Helena family caring for a child with cerebral palsy may need therapy, equipment, home modifications and, eventually, care from specialists outside Helena. A life-care plan built by qualified professionals turns those needs into a number a jury can rely on.
Montana law that applies
Birth injuries are governed by Montana’s malpractice rules: a 2-year deadline with a 5-year outer limit, extended for young children to the eighth birthday (§ 27-2-205, MCA); the panel requirement; and a cap on noneconomic damages of $350,000 for claims first filed with the panel in 2026 and $400,000 starting January 1, 2027 (§ 25-9-411, MCA). The child’s future medical care and lost earning capacity are not capped. The rules for children injured after age 4 are more complicated and should be reviewed right away. Our Montana birth injury lawyer page explains HIE, cerebral palsy and Erb’s palsy in depth.
Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Helena case?
In a city with one labor and delivery unit, many families know the nurses and doctors personally. Some would rather not hire a lawyer down the street. We are based in Great Falls and handle cases across Montana. We come to Helena to meet with you, and for the panel, depositions, hearings and trial. Our attorneys review the records themselves and give you a candid answer about whether the injury was preventable.
The Boland Aarab Way
- We build for trial and appeal. The Boland Aarab appellate record reaches back to 1977, and the Montana Supreme Court reinstated our client’s $168,500 jury verdict in Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137.
- We put in the courtroom time. Our attorneys have spent 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.
- We are part of the trial bar. Both attorneys belong to AAJ and MTLA. Caitlin Boland Aarab is an AAJ Governor and serves on the MTLA Board, and Samir Aarab is also a member of Public Justice.
We also handle medical malpractice in Helena, brain injury cases in Helena and other Helena personal injury cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
My baby was born at St. Peter’s in Helena and has HIE. Where do I start? With the complete records, especially the fetal monitoring strips in electronic form and the newborn resuscitation and transfer records. We can request them and have them reviewed.
My child was transferred out of Helena after birth. Does that affect the case? It may. The timing of the evaluation, of cooling therapy when indicated, and of the transfer can matter as much as the delivery itself, so we gather the records from both hospitals.
How long do I have to file for a birth injury in Montana? For a child injured before age 4, the 2-year period generally starts at the child’s eighth birthday, or the child’s death if that comes first (§ 27-2-205(2), MCA). Claims for the mother’s injuries follow the ordinary 2-year rule.
Does my claim go to the Medical Legal Panel in Helena? Usually, yes, for claims against physicians and licensed facilities. The panel’s office is in Helena, its process is confidential, and filing pauses the deadline.
Is every birth injury malpractice? No. Some injuries can’t be prevented even with excellent care. A qualified medical review of the records is the only way to know.
Talk to a Helena Birth Injury Lawyer
Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Our attorneys: Caitlin Boland Aarab · Samir F. Aarab
Sources: § 27-2-205, MCA · § 27-6-301, MCA · § 27-6-701, MCA · § 27-6-702, MCA · § 25-9-411, MCA · § 26-2-601, MCA · § 3-5-101, MCA · St. Peter’s Health, Labor and Delivery · Montana Medical Legal Panel
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
