More than 350,000 babies are born in California hospitals every year, and the hospital where a baby is born changes how a birth-injury claim works. A Kaiser Permanente hospital, a county or University of California hospital and a private hospital each follow a different path, with different first deadlines.
Below you will find a page for each major maternity hospital in California — what the hospital offers, how to get the delivery records from it, where a case would be filed and which rules apply. New hospitals are added every day. If you do not see your hospital yet, call us: the review is free, in English or Spanish.
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Three kinds of hospitals, three different paths
Kaiser Permanente
Public hospitals
Private hospitals
Kaiser Permanente works differently from most hospitals. Kaiser’s own member materials explain that members agree to binding arbitration instead of a jury or court trial for certain matters, that a member who believes their care was negligent can ask for binding arbitration, and that the arbitrator’s decision is binding on both the member and Kaiser Permanente. These arbitrations are run by a neutral Office of the Independent Administrator (oia-kaiserarb.com), not by Kaiser. For a family who delivered at a Kaiser hospital as Kaiser members, that usually means a birth-injury claim is decided by an arbitrator rather than a jury — and the claim still has to be started on time, so it is important not to wait.
Many California babies are born at county or University of California hospitals: LAC+USC, Harbor-UCLA, Olive View-UCLA, Riverside University Health System, Arrowhead Regional, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, UC Davis and others. These are public entities, and the Government Claims Act applies. Under Government Code § 911.2, a written claim for injury or death must be presented to the public entity within six months of the injury, before any lawsuit. If the claim is rejected in writing, Government Code § 945.6 gives six months from that notice to file suit. The child’s longer deadline under Code of Civil Procedure § 340.5 does not replace this six-month claim, so families with a public-hospital birth should act right away.
California gives a child’s birth-injury case its own deadline. Under Code of Civil Procedure § 340.5, a minor must sue within three years of the wrongful act, but a child who was under six when it happened has until his or her eighth birthday if that is longer. For a baby hurt during labor or delivery, that usually means the eighth birthday. The clock runs from the act itself, not from the day the family learned what went wrong, and it is paused only in narrow cases of fraud or collusion. Parents’ own claims, and claims against a public hospital, can have much shorter deadlines, so it is safer to get advice early.
Hospital pages by county
Los Angeles County
San Diego County
Orange County
Santa Clara County
San Bernardino County
Riverside County
Fresno County
Kern County
Alameda County
Placer County
Stanislaus County
Sacramento County
Contra Costa County
San Francisco County
Santa Barbara County
Tulare County
Ventura County
San Joaquin County
Kings County
Merced County
San Mateo County
Imperial County
Free birth-injury case review
We review the delivery records with medical experts and tell you honestly whether there is a case. You pay no fees or costs unless we win.
Questions parents ask
Does it matter which hospital my baby was born in?
Yes. Kaiser members usually go to binding arbitration, public hospitals (county, UC and healthcare districts) require a written government claim within six months, and private hospitals follow the regular California rules. The first deadline can be very different.
My hospital is not on the list. Can you still help?
Yes. We add hospitals every day, and we review deliveries at any California hospital. Call us or send the form; the review is free.
Where do the hospital numbers on these pages come from?
The newborn and NICU numbers come from each hospital’s 2024 annual utilization report to California’s Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI). Other facts come from the hospital’s own website.
Are you connected to these hospitals?
No. Beverly Law is an independent law firm and is not affiliated with any hospital on these pages.
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Birth Injury Lawyers by California Hospital — Beverly Law
Free case review for families in California. We obtain the delivery records, have them reviewed by medical experts and deal with the hospital and its insurer — you focus on your child. You pay no fees or costs unless we win.
Related pages
Cerebral Palsy · Erb’s Palsy / Brachial Plexus Injury · HIE / Oxygen Deprivation at Birth · Statute of Limitations · MICRA Damages Cap · California birth injury lawyers
Sources
- HCAI — 2024 Hospital Annual Utilization Report (final, October 2025)
- Code of Civil Procedure § 340.5
- Code of Civil Procedure § 364
- Government Code § 911.2
- Government Code § 911.4
- Government Code § 911.6
- Government Code § 945.6
- Civil Code § 3333.2 (as amended by AB 35, 2022)
- Civil Code § 3333.1
- Code of Civil Procedure § 667.7
- Business and Professions Code § 6146 (as amended by AB 35, 2022)
- Health and Safety Code § 123110 (patient access to records)
- Health and Safety Code § 123105 (patient's personal representative)
- Medical Board of California — Access to medical records
- Kaiser Permanente — Member resource guide, California (binding arbitration, Office of the Independent Administrator)
Important: This page is general information about birth injuries and California law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship with Beverly Law. Every case is different — talk to a lawyer about your own situation. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. No fees or costs unless we win. Last reviewed: 2026-09-18.