The constitution that forbids damages caps
Wyoming is one of a handful of states where damages caps are constitutionally prohibited: article 10, section 4 of the Wyoming Constitution declares that no law shall limit the amount of damages recovered for causing the injury or death of any person. Legislatures elsewhere spent decades enacting, striking, and re-enacting caps; in Wyoming the question was settled in 1890, at statehood. For a family whose child suffered hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy or cerebral palsy, recovery is bounded only by proof: the lifetime cost of medical and attendant care established through an expert life-care plan, lost earning capacity, and the non-economic losses a jury finds.
Wyoming’s deadlines and the age-8 rule
Wyoming’s malpractice statute allows two years from the act, error, or omission (or from discovery, where the injury was not reasonably discoverable in time), with a six-month extension for injuries discovered late in the second year (Wyo. Stat. § 1-3-107). For children, the statute writes the rule directly: a minor may bring the claim by the eighth birthday or within the standard period, whichever is later. Every newborn’s claim, in other words, runs to age eight: real time, but far from the age-18 assumption, and diagnoses that mature slowly can quietly spend most of it. Claims belonging to the parents follow the adult limitations period. Our statute of limitations guide compares children’s rules across all fifty states.
The review panel that no longer exists
For years, Wyoming malpractice claims had to pass through the state’s Medical Review Panel before reaching a courtroom. No longer: the Medical Review Panel Act was repealed effective July 1, 2022, and claims now proceed directly in district court. What survives is the substantive burden that never left (qualified expert testimony establishing the standard of care, the breach, and causation) and Wyoming’s practical reality that obstetrical experts almost always come from out of state, which makes early records work the backbone of any credible claim.
No caps, no panel — but a two-year adult clock and an age-8 ceiling for the child. A free review of the delivery records can tell you whether the standard of care was met and exactly which deadlines your family faces.
Delivering in the least-populated state
Wyoming has no children’s hospital and no Level IV NICU; its highest-level newborn care sits at Cheyenne Regional and Wyoming Medical Center in Casper, and the state’s high-risk deliveries routinely transfer to Colorado (Children’s Hospital Colorado, UCHealth) or Utah. That geography shapes the legal questions: whether a high-risk pregnancy should have been referred out earlier, whether a small hospital attempted a delivery it was not equipped for, whether the neonatal transport call came in time; and, when care spans state lines, which state’s law governs. Cases involving stuck-shoulder emergencies and birth asphyxia in low-volume delivery units often turn on exactly these decisions. One more carve-out: deliveries at F.E. Warren Air Force Base or IHS facilities at Wind River proceed under federal law, on federal deadlines.
Who handles Wyoming birth injury cases
Birth Injury Advocate is an alliance between two named law firms: Banville Law (New York and Washington, D.C.) and The Weitz Firm, LLC (Pennsylvania and New Jersey). Neither firm’s attorneys are licensed in Wyoming, and we will not pretend otherwise. When you contact us about a Wyoming delivery, we connect your family with the alliance’s vetted network of local birth injury attorneys: Wyoming-licensed lawyers who try malpractice cases in the state’s district courts and handle the cross-border questions its geography creates. The referral is without cost, the consultation is free, and attorneys earn a fee only when they recover money for the family.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to file a birth injury lawsuit in Wyoming?
Two years from the act or from discovery under Wyoming’s malpractice statute (Wyo. Stat. § 1-3-107), with a six-month extension for injuries discovered in the second year. For children the statute is explicit: a minor may file by the eighth birthday or within the standard two years, whichever is later, so a newborn’s claim generally runs to age eight. Parents’ claims follow the adult clock.
Does Wyoming cap damages in birth injury cases?
No, and it cannot. The Wyoming Constitution provides that no law may limit the amount of damages recovered for injuring or killing a person (art. 10, § 4). Because the ban is constitutional, the legislature cannot simply enact a cap. Recovery is measured by the evidence alone.
Does Wyoming still require review by a medical review panel?
No. The Wyoming Medical Review Panel Act, which once required claims to be screened before suit, was repealed effective July 1, 2022. Claims now proceed directly in district court, where expert testimony on the standard of care remains essential.
Is every birth injury in Wyoming malpractice?
No. Careful care does not prevent every injury, and an injury that occurred despite proper care is not malpractice. That includes sound decisions to transfer high-risk deliveries out of small hospitals or out of state. A case must be supported by expert opinion that the care was substandard and that it caused the injury.
Sources
- Wyo. Const. art. 10, § 4: constitutional prohibition on limiting damages for injury or death.
- Wyo. Stat. § 1-3-107: two-year malpractice limitation; discovery; minor’s window to the eighth birthday.
- 2021 Wyo. Sess. Laws ch. 99: repeal of the Medical Review Panel Act, effective July 1, 2022.
- 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346(b), 2671–2680: Federal Tort Claims Act (military and IHS deliveries).
This page is for general education and is not legal advice; statutes are cited by number so you can verify them, and deadlines depend on facts specific to your case. Legal statements reflect the reviewing attorneys’ professional experience. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.