This page is for parents and caregivers who delivered at Jacobs Medical Center, part of UC San Diego Health, at 9300 Campus Point Drive in La Jolla, San Diego County, California, and who now have questions about a birth injury. Maybe your baby needed intensive care after birth, maybe a diagnosis came weeks or months later, or maybe something about the delivery still does not add up for you. Wanting clear answers is a normal and reasonable thing to want.
Most births end well, and nothing here suggests otherwise about any hospital, any care team or any family's experience. The goal is simply to explain, in plain words, what birth injuries are, which warning signs families notice, how an independent medical review of a delivery works, and what practical steps you can take: getting the records, understanding the strict deadlines, and finding early support for your child.
The medical explanations below come from public health and children's hospital sources, and the hospital facts come from the hospital's own website and its 2024 report to the state (HCAI). This page is general information, not legal or medical advice and not a statement about any particular delivery. If you have a specific concern, a conversation with your child's doctor and with a lawyer who handles birth-injury cases can help you understand where you stand.
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At a glance: Jacobs Medical Center (UC San Diego Health)
| Address | 9300 Campus Point Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037 |
| County | San Diego County |
| Health system / operator | UC San Diego Health (The Regents of the University of California) |
| Type of hospital | University of California hospital (public entity) |
| Newborns in 2024 | 4,117 (report to the state, HCAI) |
| Licensed NICU beds | 52 |
| NICU level | Level III |
| Main phone | 858-249-5534 |
| Hospital website | health.ucsd.edu |
Sources: HCAI — 2024 Hospital Annual Utilization Report and the hospital’s own website.
Labor and delivery at Jacobs Medical Center in La Jolla
According to UC San Diego Health's own pregnancy and birth pages, Jacobs Medical Center in La Jolla offers traditional labor and delivery as well as a Birth Center that the health system describes as holistic. The hospital's state license lists it under The Regents of the University of California, which means it is a University of California hospital and, for legal purposes, a public entity. Its main phone number in the state's records is 858-249-5534.
The hospital's website says Jacobs Medical Center has a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for babies with critical or more complex medical needs. It lists a team that includes neonatologists, neonatal nurse practitioners, newborn-trained nurses, respiratory therapists and occupational or physical therapists, and notes that Jacobs is a teaching facility with fellows and residents, plus social work support and lactation help for families.
According to the hospital's 2024 report to the state (HCAI), the newborn nursery cared for 4,117 newborns that year, the hospital is licensed for 52 intensive-care newborn beds, and the NICU had 638 discharges. These numbers show the size of the program and the community it serves: families from across San Diego County and beyond, including many whose babies needed extra support after birth.
Knowing what a hospital offers helps you read your own records and ask better questions. It does not say anything about how any one delivery went. Every labor is different, and many babies who spend time in a NICU go home and do well.
Birth injuries families ask about after a difficult delivery
Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, or HIE, is brain injury in a newborn caused by too little oxygen or blood flow to the brain before or shortly after birth. Nationwide Children's Hospital explains that it can range from mild to severe and that the exact cause is often unknown. Babies with moderate or severe HIE may be treated with therapeutic hypothermia (body cooling), which must begin within hours of birth. Some effects may not be clear until a child is three or four years old.
Cerebral palsy is a group of conditions that affect movement, balance and posture, and it is the most common motor disability in childhood, according to the CDC. Most cases begin before or during birth, but the CDC also notes that the specific cause is often unknown and that lack of oxygen at birth explains only a small share of cases. Cerebral palsy does not get worse over time, though how it shows up can change as a child grows.
Brachial plexus birth injury, often called Erb's palsy, is damage to the nerves that control the shoulder, arm and hand. The Hospital for Special Surgery explains that it most often happens when a baby's shoulder catches during delivery, a situation called shoulder dystocia, and that larger birth weight and maternal diabetes are among the known risk factors. Many children recover with therapy, while more severe injuries may need nerve surgery.
Families also ask about other conditions: bleeding in or around a newborn's brain, a fractured collarbone or skull, infections such as group B strep (GBS), and injuries to the mother such as heavy bleeding after delivery (postpartum hemorrhage). Each of these can happen even when everyone does everything right, and each can also be the subject of a careful medical review. These are general descriptions only; they say nothing about any hospital or any delivery.
Warning signs of a birth injury in the first days, weeks and months
In the first days, signs families and nurses may notice include trouble breathing, a weak or unusual cry, seizures or jerking movements, very low energy or being hard to wake, trouble feeding or sucking, a floppy or very stiff body, and an arm that does not move the way the other one does. Some of these are common in healthy newborns and pass quickly; a doctor needs to evaluate them.
In the first weeks and months, parents often notice that a baby does not follow faces or sounds, startles very little or too much, keeps hands in tight fists, or feeds poorly. The CDC lists signs of possible cerebral palsy in babies under six months such as head lag when lifted, stiffness or floppiness, arching of the back and stiff, crossing legs. After six months, not rolling over, trouble bringing hands together, or reaching with only one hand can be signals.
Later milestones matter too. The CDC says a delay in reaching motor milestones is the main sign, and some children are not diagnosed until they are older. If you are worried, you do not need to wait. You can raise it at the next pediatric visit, and the CDC notes you can contact your state's early intervention program without a doctor's referral.
Writing down what you noticed and when, with dates, photos or short videos, can be very helpful later for doctors and for anyone who reviews the records. Trust your instincts as a parent, and keep asking until you feel your questions have been answered.
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Who may be responsible in a birth-injury claim?
Many people take part in a delivery, and a claim may involve more than one of them. Depending on the facts, those who may be reviewed include the hospital and its nurses and staff, the obstetrician, a midwife, an anesthesiologist, the neonatal team, and the medical group that employs or contracts with them. Whether any claim exists depends entirely on the records and on expert opinion.
One important question is who the doctor actually worked for. Some physicians are employees of the hospital or health system. Others are independent or belong to a separate medical group and only use the hospital to care for their own patients. That difference can change who is named in a claim, which insurance applies and which deadlines apply, so it is worth sorting out early.
Because Jacobs Medical Center is a University of California hospital, it is a public entity, and the Government Claims Act applies. California requires a written claim to be presented to a public entity within a short period, well before the child's longer court deadline. A doctor in private practice may be on a different timetable. This is why families are encouraged to get advice early rather than wait to see how a child develops.
How an independent expert review of a delivery works
An independent review starts with the complete medical records of both mother and baby. A qualified physician, often an obstetrician, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, a neonatologist or a pediatric neurologist, reads the chart without any stake in the outcome and asks whether the care followed accepted standards and whether it plausibly relates to the child's condition.
Reviewers look at specific pieces of evidence. The fetal heart monitoring strips show the baby's heart rate and the mother's contractions over time. Apgar scores at one and five minutes summarize how the baby was doing after birth. Umbilical cord blood gases measure acid and oxygen levels. Brain MRI, EEG results and NICU notes show how the baby was treated and how the condition developed. Labor notes, medication records and nursing entries help build a timeline.
The review can reach several conclusions. It may find that care was appropriate and that the injury had another cause, which for many families is its own kind of answer. It may find questions worth pursuing. Either way, the family learns more than it knew before. A review is not a lawsuit, and asking for one does not mean anyone has done anything wrong.
What you can do now: step by step
First, focus on your child's care. Keep every appointment, ask for referrals to specialists, and keep a folder or notebook of diagnoses, tests, therapies and the names of providers who see your child.
Second, request the records. Ask for the mother's labor and delivery chart, the newborn record, the fetal monitoring strips, and NICU notes, and keep proof of when you asked. Under California law the records must be provided within set times; details appear below on this page.
Third, learn the deadlines. California gives children's cases a longer deadline than adults', but parents' own claims and claims against a public hospital can have much shorter ones, including a six-month written claim for public hospitals. Before a medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed, the provider must also receive written notice. Because these rules interact, it is safer to get advice early.
Fourth, talk to a lawyer who handles birth-injury cases. Many offer a free first conversation, and they can arrange the independent medical review for you. Bring your records, your notes and your questions. If you delivered as a member of a health plan with special rules, tell the lawyer, since some plans use arbitration instead of court.
Fifth, do not sign releases or accept settlement offers, from anyone, before you understand them. You can ask questions about your rights at any time, and you are never obligated to take any step.
Support while the case is reviewed: therapy, Early Start, Medi-Cal and CCS
Your child does not have to wait for a legal answer to get help. Early Start is California's early intervention program for infants and toddlers under 3 with developmental delays or at risk for them, according to the Department of Developmental Services. In San Diego County it works through San Diego Regional Center, and anyone can start by calling the Early Start BabyLine at 800-515-2229.
Therapies such as physical, occupational and speech therapy can begin early and can make a real difference. Many children also qualify for Medi-Cal, and California Children's Services (CCS) covers certain serious medical conditions for eligible children. Eligibility depends on diagnosis and family circumstances, so ask your pediatrician or social worker how to apply.
Support does not replace a legal review, and a legal review does not replace support. They can run side by side. No outcome is guaranteed in either, but starting early with services gives your child the most time to benefit.
Jacobs Medical Center (UC San Diego Health) is a public hospital: the six-month claim comes first
Because Jacobs Medical Center (UC San Diego Health) is a University of California hospital (operated by UC San Diego Health (The Regents of the University of California)), a claim for an injury at birth usually has to start with a written government claim, not a lawsuit. This is the single most important deadline on this page.
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.
What MICRA caps — and what it does not
California’s MICRA law limits one part of a medical malpractice recovery. Under Civil Code § 3333.2, as amended by AB 35, non-economic damages (pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life) are capped. In 2026 the cap is $470,000 for injury and $650,000 for wrongful death, and it rises every January 1 ($40,000 and $50,000 a year until 2033, then 2% a year). Separate caps can apply to doctors, hospitals and unaffiliated providers. Economic damages are not capped: lifetime medical care, therapy, equipment, home modifications and lost earning capacity can be recovered in full, and in a birth-injury case they are usually the largest part of the claim.
How to get the delivery records from Jacobs Medical Center, La Jolla
California law gives families a right to these records. Under Health and Safety Code § 123110, a patient or the patient’s personal representative — for a baby, a parent or guardian (§ 123105) — may inspect the records within five working days of a written request and is entitled to a paper or electronic copy, which the provider must send within 15 days after receiving a request that says which records are wanted. For a birth-injury review, ask for both charts: the mother’s labor and delivery record, including the fetal heart rate monitoring strips, and the baby’s newborn and NICU record.
To request records from this hospital, contact Health Information Management at UC San Diego Health. The health system's medical records page says you can use MyUCSDChart if you have an account, an online request form that does not need an account (a separate link is for patient representatives such as a parent), or mail or fax a signed Authorization to Release Medical Information with a copy of a photo ID to Health Information Management, 200 West Arbor Drive, #8825, San Diego, CA 92103 (fax 619-543-7128). Questions can go to 619-543-6704, option 5. For a baby's records, tell them you are the parent and ask for the mother's labor and delivery chart, the newborn and NICU records, and the fetal monitoring strips.
The hospital’s medical records page →
Where a case from La Jolla would be filed
A birth-injury lawsuit from a delivery in San Diego County would usually be filed in the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego. The court's website says the Hall of Justice, 330 West Broadway, San Diego, CA 92101, houses the Civil Independent Calendar courtrooms and the Civil Business Office (619-450-7275), which can confirm where a particular civil case should be filed. If the claim is against a public hospital, a written government claim must come first, so a lawsuit is not always the first step.
Superior Court of California, County of San Diego – Hall of Justice → — 330 West Broadway, San Diego, CA 92101
Help for your child now: Early Start in San Diego County
Early Start is California's early intervention program for babies and toddlers under 3 who have developmental delays or are at risk for them. The regional center that serves San Diego County is San Diego Regional Center, 4355 Ruffin Road, Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92123, phone 858-576-2996. Parents, doctors and others can ask for an evaluation by calling the regional center or the statewide Early Start BabyLine at 800-515-2229 (earlystart@dds.ca.gov), and no lawsuit or doctor's diagnosis is needed to ask. Tell them your address so they can confirm that the regional center covers your home.
Key facts
- Jacobs Medical Center in La Jolla offers labor and delivery, a Birth Center and a Level III NICU, according to UC San Diego Health's own website.
- According to the hospital's 2024 report to the state (HCAI), it cared for 4,117 newborns, is licensed for 52 intensive-care newborn beds and had 638 NICU discharges.
- Jacobs Medical Center is a University of California hospital, which makes it a public entity with its own claim rules and a short written-claim deadline.
- A child's birth-injury case has its own longer deadline in California, but parents' claims and public-hospital claims can be much shorter, so it is safest to ask early.
- You have a right to your baby's records, and asking for them or for an independent expert review does not mean anyone did anything wrong.
Questions parents ask
Can I file a birth-injury claim against Jacobs Medical Center?
Any family can ask for the records and an independent medical review to find out whether a claim is worth pursuing. Whether there is a claim depends on what the records and expert reviewers show about your own delivery. Because the hospital is a University of California hospital, special rules for public entities apply, so it helps to ask early.
How long do I have to bring a birth-injury case?
California gives a child's birth-injury case its own deadline, which for a baby hurt during labor or delivery usually runs to the eighth birthday. But parents' own claims and claims against a public hospital can have much shorter deadlines, including a six-month written claim for public hospitals. Do not wait to find out which rules apply to you.
Is Jacobs Medical Center a public hospital?
Yes for legal purposes. The state's 2024 report lists the hospital under The Regents of the University of California, so it is treated as a public entity. That means the Government Claims Act applies, and a written claim must usually be presented before any lawsuit can be filed.
What if my doctor did not work for the hospital?
Many obstetricians and other doctors are independent or belong to a separate medical group, even when they deliver babies at a hospital. That can change who may be responsible and which deadlines and insurance apply. A lawyer can use your records to sort out who employed each person involved.
How do I get my fetal monitoring strips from Jacobs Medical Center?
Ask UC San Diego Health's Health Information Management in writing for the mother's labor and delivery chart, including the fetal monitoring strips, and for the baby's records. You can use the online request form, MyUCSDChart or mail and fax; the office phone is 619-543-6704, option 5. California law sets time limits for providing records.
Does it cost anything to talk to a lawyer about a birth injury?
Many birth-injury lawyers offer a free first conversation and take cases for a percentage only if there is a recovery, but arrangements vary, so ask about fees and costs before you sign anything. Talking to a lawyer does not commit you to filing a case.
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Other San Diego County hospitals we cover
Sharp Mary Birch Hospital · San Diego birth injury lawyers →
Jacobs Medical Center (UC San Diego Health) Birth Injury Lawyers — Beverly Law
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Related pages
Cerebral Palsy · Erb’s Palsy / Brachial Plexus Injury · HIE / Oxygen Deprivation at Birth · Statute of Limitations · MICRA Damages Cap · All California hospitals · California birth injury lawyers · Birth injury guides
Sources
- HCAI — 2024 Hospital Annual Utilization Report (final, October 2025)
- UC San Diego Health – Pregnancy & Birth Care — Labor and delivery, Birth Center and Level III NICU at Jacobs Medical Center
- UC San Diego Health – NICU — NICU level, team and services at Jacobs Medical Center
- UC San Diego Health – Medical Records — How to request records from Health Information Management
- Superior Court of California, County of San Diego – Hall of Justice — Courthouse address and civil calendar courtrooms
- San Diego Regional Center — Regional center for San Diego County, address and phone
- California Department of Developmental Services – Early Start — What Early Start is and the Early Start BabyLine
- CDC – About Cerebral Palsy — Cerebral palsy facts, causes and early signs
- Nationwide Children's Hospital – Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy — HIE causes, signs and cooling treatment
- Hospital for Special Surgery – Erb's Palsy and Brachial Plexus Birth Injuries — Brachial plexus birth injury causes and treatment
- Government Code § 911.2
- Government Code § 945.6
- Code of Civil Procedure § 340.5
- Civil Code § 3333.2 (as amended by AB 35, 2022)
- Health and Safety Code § 123110 (patient access to records)
Beverly Law is an independent law firm. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or speaking for Jacobs Medical Center (UC San Diego Health) or UC San Diego Health (The Regents of the University of California). Hospital facts on this page come from the public sources listed above.
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.