Family Asks Kentucky Supreme Court to Allow Recovery for Accidental Death of Non-Viable Fetus

Courier-Journal: Kentucky Supreme Court asked to allow lawsuit in accidental death of early-term fetus, by Andrew Wolfson:

2008 death of fetus is basis of appeal

Fourteen weeks pregnant, Desiree Amber Stevens was heading east on Ky. 52 in Estill County on Aug. 16, 2008, when another driver tried to cross the highway in front of her, causing a horrific crash that killed Stevens and her unborn child.

The other driver, Gina Flynn, and Stevens’ insurance carrier, Progressive Direct, settled a wrongful death suit for an undisclosed amount that was filed by Thomas A. Stevens on his 24-year-old daughter’s behalf.

But Flynn and Progressive refused to pay a penny for the wrongful death of Stevens’ unborn grandson — and Circuit Judge Thomas Jones said they didn’t have to.

“Harsh as it seems,” Jones wrote, damages for a “non-viable fetus are not recoverable.”

The Kentucky Court of Appeals affirmed that ruling last month, the second time in two years that it has denied damages for the alleged negligent death of an early-term fetus.

Now Stevens, a retired state trooper, and his lawyer, J.T. Gilbert of Richmond, are asking the Kentucky Supreme Court to reconsider the case. . . .