You expected a safe delivery, but something went wrong. There were delays or complications, and your child’s diagnosis remains unexplained.
You have a right to know what happened and whether it could have been prevented.
Hodes Milman represents families in Newport Beach who believe a medical mistake caused a birth injury. Our team reviews fetal monitoring strips, delivery records, and hospital timelines to determine whether doctors, nurses, or hospitals failed to act when it mattered most.
For more than 30 years, we have handled complex birth injury cases across Southern California, including claims involving providers and facilities serving Newport Beach and Orange County.
If your child was injured during labor or delivery, get the answers you need today. Call (949) 640-8222 now to speak with a Newport Beach birth injury lawyer for a free, confidential consultation.
“My daughter was born with a disability due to doctor neglect. After contacting many lawyers, Jeff Milman believed in my case and worked hard to help me. He won my case and was always professional and a pleasure to work with. I am thankful to him and his team.”
— Kymbirley B., Verified Client
What Is a Birth Injury?
A birth injury is harm that occurs during labor, delivery, or shortly after birth. It is often linked to complications that require timely medical judgment, such as signs of fetal distress, problems with oxygen supply, or difficulties during delivery.
In many cases, the outcome depends on how the medical team responded in those critical moments. When providers fail to properly monitor the baby, delay a necessary C-section, or misuse delivery tools, the consequences can be severe.
Some of the most serious birth injuries include hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), cerebral palsy, and brachial plexus injuries. These conditions can affect a child’s movement, cognition, and overall development, often requiring long-term care and support.
Pinpointing when the injury occurred and how the delivery was managed is often the first step in understanding whether it could have been avoided.
Common Types of Birth Injuries Seen in Newport Beach Cases
The birth injuries seen most often in Newport Beach cases include:
- Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE): Brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation during labor or delivery. HIE can lead to cerebral palsy, seizures, developmental delays, and cognitive impairment.
- Cerebral palsy: A group of conditions affecting movement, muscle tone, and coordination, often linked to brain injury during birth.
- Erb’s palsy and brachial plexus injuries: Nerve damage to the shoulder and arm, typically caused by excessive pulling or stretching during delivery, often in cases of shoulder dystocia.
- Skull fractures and brain bleeds: Trauma associated with the improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors during difficult deliveries.
- Kernicterus: A preventable brain injury caused by severe jaundice left untreated after birth.
- Spinal cord injuries: Damage caused by excessive force or improper positioning during delivery, which can result in partial or full paralysis.
These conditions often require long-term therapy, equipment, and specialized care. The impact is lasting.
How Is a Birth Injury Different From a Birth Defect?
A birth defect develops during pregnancy due to genetic or developmental factors and is present before labor. Down syndrome, heart defects, and cleft palate originate during fetal development and are unrelated to delivery.
A birth injury, by contrast, occurs during labor or delivery. It is tied to what happened while your child was being born, including how the medical team monitored the pregnancy, responded to complications, and managed the delivery itself.
A baby who suffers brain damage because a C-section was delayed, or nerve damage because forceps were applied incorrectly, has a birth injury, not a birth defect.
For families, the key question is whether the condition developed during pregnancy or arose from how care was provided during labor and delivery. That answer comes from reconstructing what happened in the hours leading up to birth, including fetal monitoring, clinical decisions, and the timing of interventions.
Causes of Birth Injuries That May Support a Malpractice Claim
Most birth injuries tied to malpractice trace back to a failure at a specific, identifiable moment during labor or delivery. Common causes include:
- Failure to order a timely C-section when fetal distress is present;
- Misuse of forceps or vacuum extractors;
- Improper administration of Pitocin or other labor-inducing medications;
- Failure to monitor fetal heart rate and recognize signs of oxygen deprivation;
- Delays in treating maternal infections, hemorrhage, or abnormal blood pressure; and
- Failure to diagnose and treat jaundice after birth.
Families in Newport Beach have trusted many local providers. If a provider does not meet care standards during labor and a child is hurt, a birth injury lawsuit may be possible.
Your Legal Rights After a Birth Injury in Newport Beach
If your child was injured during labor or delivery, California law allows you to pursue a medical malpractice claim when a healthcare provider’s negligence caused that harm. To have a valid claim, the evidence must show:
- The provider failed to meet the accepted standard of care, and
- That failure directly caused your child’s birth injury.
You also have a limited amount of time to take action. In most cases, California law gives families:
- One year from the date you discovered the injury, or
- Three years from the date the negligent act occurred, whichever comes first.
If that deadline passes, you may lose the right to pursue compensation, regardless of how strong the case is.
California law also places limits on certain types of damages. Under MICRA, as updated by AB 35:
- Non-economic damages such as pain and suffering are capped.
- The current cap on medical malpractice cases is $430,000.
- These caps increase each year through 2033.
A Newport Beach birth injury attorney can help you understand how these rules apply to your situation and what options may be available.
If your child was injured during labor or delivery at Hoag Hospital Newport Beach or another local provider, Hodes Milman can help you understand what happened and what options are available.
You can speak directly with a Newport Beach birth injury lawyer who handles birth injury cases and ask questions about your situation without any obligation. Call (949) 640-8222 or contact us online for a free, confidential case review.
How Does Hodes Milman Prove Medical Negligence in Birth Injury Cases?
Right now, you may not have a clear answer to what happened during your child’s delivery. You may have been told everything was handled appropriately, even though something about it does not sit right.
Investigating a case like this means going back through those hours in the delivery room in detail. What was the medical team seeing? What should they have done? When should they have acted?
Hodes Milman approaches that process by:
- Reviewing the full set of delivery records, including fetal monitoring strips and nursing notes;
- Bringing in specialists who can walk through the care step by step and explain it clearly;
- Identifying where a different decision or earlier response could have changed what happened; and
- Understanding what your child will need moving forward, medically and day to day.
This is often the first time families get a clear, complete picture of what took place.
Hear It From Dan Hodes Directly
Founding partner Dan Hodes joined the Cases for Causes podcast to discuss how birth injury cases are evaluated, what attorneys look for in delivery records, and what families can expect when pursuing a claim. Dan draws on more than 40 years of experience in complex malpractice litigation.
Listen to the Full Episode Here
Compensation Available in a Newport Beach Birth Injury Case
A birth injury means unexpected ongoing care. Financial recovery is meant to support long-term needs and stability as your child grows.
Compensation may include:
- Past and future medical expenses, including hospital care, surgeries, and specialist treatment
- Physical, occupational, and speech therapy
- Adaptive equipment, mobility support, and modifications to the home
- In-home nursing care or other forms of daily assistance
- Lost income if a parent steps away from work to provide care
- Pain and suffering experienced by your child and your family
Many needs extend beyond early childhood. Therapy, education support, and daily assistance often continue into adolescence and adulthood. A claim helps families meet these long-term needs.
Results We Have Secured for Birth Injury Families
When a birth injury happens, parents take on a role they never prepared for. Coordinating care, managing therapies, and planning for needs that will continue for years.
The families behind these cases came to Hodes Milman facing those same demands, and these recoveries provided the financial support for therapy, equipment, and daily assistance so they could focus on their child.
- $7.9 million — A child developed hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy after the medical team failed to recognize recurrent fetal heart rate decelerations over 23 hours and proceeded with a vaginal delivery rather than a C-section. The child now requires lifetime care.
- $6 million — A monochorionic twin pregnancy in which Twin B showed growth restriction and abnormal cord findings requiring closer monitoring and early delivery. Monitoring was reduced instead. Twin B died in utero, causing a hypoxic injury to Twin A. The surviving child lives with severe cerebral palsy.
- $4.25 million — A 33-hour labor during which Pitocin was administered in excessive amounts, causing tachysystole and hypertonus that led to hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in the newborn.
A Martindale-Nolo survey found that personal injury claimants who worked with an attorney received, on average, nearly three times more in compensation than those who handled their claim alone.
Who Is Liable for a Birth Injury in Newport Beach?
As you begin to ask what went wrong, it often becomes clear that more than one person was involved in the decisions that affected your child.
Care during labor and delivery is shared across a team. Responsibility may involve:
- The physician making decisions about how the delivery should proceed;
- Nurses or midwives who were monitoring and expected to speak up when something changed;
- Anesthesiologists involved in the delivery;
- Hospitals and birth centers, including Hoag Hospital Newport Beach, where communication, staffing, or internal practices affected care; or
- Medical groups involved in prenatal care and delivery planning.
Identifying everyone involved helps ensure that nothing is overlooked and that responsibility reflects the full picture of what occurred.
“No parent should have to fight for justice while caring for an injured child, but too often, that’s exactly what happens. Families deserve accountability when medical mistakes cause harm.”
— Dan Hodes, Founding Attorney, Hodes Milman
Talk to Our Newport Beach Birth Injury Lawyers
Your child’s injury changed the trajectory of your family’s life. Accountability starts with understanding exactly what happened in that delivery room and who is responsible.
Hodes Milman has represented families in complex birth injury cases throughout Newport Beach for decades. We’ve recovered more than $200 million and have handled cases involving hospitals, physicians, and healthcare systems across the region.
Call (949) 640-8222 or contact us online to speak with a Newport Beach birth injury attorney today.
Frequently Asked Questions About Newport Beach Birth Injury Claims
Can I file a Newport Beach birth injury lawsuit if my child was delivered by a midwife or at a birth center?
Yes. Midwives and birth centers are held to accepted standards of care just as hospitals and physicians are. If a midwife failed to recognize signs of distress or delayed a transfer to a hospital when one was needed, that failure can support a malpractice claim.
What if my child's injury was not diagnosed until months or years after birth?
California’s statute of limitations accounts for delayed discovery. The one-year window typically begins from the date you knew or reasonably should have known that the injury was connected to what happened during delivery. A Newport Beach birth injury attorney can assess the specific timeline in your case.
Can both parents file a birth injury claim?
Yes. Both parents can be named as plaintiffs in a Newport Beach birth injury lawsuit. Compensation can include damages for each parent’s emotional distress and the impact the injury has had on their lives, in addition to the damages related to the child’s care and future needs.
What if my OB-GYN practice, not the hospital, is responsible for the error?
Private OB-GYN practices and medical groups in Newport Beach can be held liable separately from a hospital. If your delivering physician was employed by an independent practice rather than Hoag Hospital Newport Beach, the claim may be directed at that practice, the physician, or both, depending on the facts.
ABOUT HODES MILMAN
Hodes Milman has won $200 million and has over 30 years of experience securing justice for victims of negligence. We are proud to call our clients family and offer them the resourceful, committed and accessible legal advocacy they deserve.
HONORS & AWARDS
MEET THE ATTORNEYS
When you work with us, you’ll see the difference. A lot of firms are quick to show you numbers, and it is absolutely true that your lawyer should have experience and a strong track record in the area that you require. However, we’ll take it one step further. We also believe that your attorney should put your needs, cares and desires first. Because you deserve more than just compensation for your losses - you deserve a true advocate.