Question 1

Why Should You Choose Wilshire Law Firm for Your California Birth Injury Case?

Accepted Answer

Wilshire Law Firm is an award-winning, nationally recognized team that helps families hold negligent medical providers accountable. Our attorneys work with medical experts to review your child's records, identify what went wrong, and build a case that accounts for a lifetime of medical care, therapy, and support. We handle every conversation with hospitals and their insurers so you can focus on your family. There are no fees unless you get paid.

Question 2

What Is a Birth Injury?

Accepted Answer

A birth injury is harm to a baby or mother that occurs during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or shortly after birth. Some birth injuries are unavoidable, but many result from preventable medical negligence — such as a failure to monitor fetal distress, delayed decisions to perform a cesarean section, or improper use of delivery tools. When a provider's failure to meet the accepted standard of care causes a lasting injury, families may have a legal claim.

Question 3

What Are the Most Common Types of Birth Injuries?

Accepted Answer

Birth injuries range from temporary conditions to permanent, life-altering disabilities. The types our attorneys see most often include cerebral palsy, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) from oxygen deprivation, brachial plexus injuries such as Erb's palsy, shoulder dystocia complications, skull fractures and brain bleeds, and injuries linked to the misuse of forceps or vacuum extractors. Some of these injuries require lifelong care, which is central to valuing a claim.

Question 4

What Causes Preventable Birth Injuries?

Accepted Answer

Most preventable birth injuries trace back to a medical provider's failure to meet the accepted standard of care. Common examples include failing to monitor or respond to signs of fetal distress, delaying a medically necessary cesarean section, mismanaging a high-risk pregnancy, improperly using forceps or a vacuum extractor, medication errors, and failing to diagnose or treat maternal infections or conditions like preeclampsia. Establishing that negligence — not an unavoidable complication — caused the injury is central to your claim, and our attorneys work with medical experts to investigate that for you.

Question 5

What Compensation Can Families Recover in a Birth Injury Case?

Accepted Answer

Families can generally recover both economic and non-economic damages when a preventable birth injury occurs. Economic damages commonly include past and future medical expenses, the cost of therapy, assistive devices and specialized equipment, in-home or long-term care, and lost earning capacity for a child whose disability affects their future. Non-economic damages address pain, suffering, and diminished quality of life. Because California's medical malpractice laws affect how certain damages are calculated, a legal professional can review your family's specific losses during a free case review.

Question 6

How Long Do You Have to File a Birth Injury Claim in California?

Accepted Answer

Birth injury claims involving medical negligence are governed by special deadlines under California Code of Civil Procedure §340.5. For an injured child, an action generally must be filed within three years of the injury; however, for children under the age of six, the claim must be brought within three years or before the child's eighth birthday, whichever provides a longer period. Claims involving a government-run hospital can carry much shorter notice deadlines — often six months. Because these rules are strict and fact-specific, it is best to speak with a legal professional as early as possible.

Question 7

Is a birth injury the same as medical malpractice?

Accepted Answer

A preventable birth injury is a form of medical malpractice — it occurs when a doctor, nurse, or hospital fails to meet the accepted standard of care during pregnancy, labor, or delivery. Not every difficult birth involves negligence, so these cases turn on whether a reasonably competent provider would have acted differently. Because they are medical-negligence claims, they follow California's special malpractice rules and deadlines.

Question 8

How long do families have to file a birth injury claim in California?

Accepted Answer

Birth injuries are medical-malpractice claims governed by California Code of Civil Procedure § 340.5, which sets different deadlines than an ordinary injury case — generally one year from discovery or three years from the injury, whichever comes first, with special provisions for a young child. Because the timing rules for minors are complex, confirm your family's exact deadline with an attorney promptly.

Question 9

Is a birth injury the same as a birth defect?

Accepted Answer

No. A birth defect generally develops from genetics or conditions during fetal development and is often not preventable, while a birth injury results from something that happens during pregnancy, labor, or delivery — frequently a preventable failure to monitor or respond to distress. The distinction matters, because a birth injury caused by negligence may support a claim while a genetic defect usually does not.

Question 10

Does California limit the damages available in a birth injury case?

Accepted Answer

California's Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) caps non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, in medical-malpractice cases, and that cap has been increasing under recent amendments. Economic damages like the child's lifetime medical care and lost earning capacity are generally not capped. Because the cap amount and rules change, an attorney should confirm what applies to your case. In many cases, however, it is linked to preventable oxygen deprivation or mismanaged labor and delivery.

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