Adventist Health White Memorial Birth Injury Lawyers

If your baby was born at Adventist Health White Memorial, at 1720 E. Cesar E. Chavez Avenue in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, and you now have questions about a difficult delivery, this page is for you. It is written for parents, grandparents and caregivers who want plain answers: what birth injuries are, which signs to watch for, how the medical records are requested, and what an independent review of a delivery looks like.

Most babies born at this hospital, like most babies anywhere, go home healthy. But some deliveries are hard. A baby may need time in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), may not be reaching milestones, or may have a diagnosis that nobody explained clearly. Parents often tell us they simply want to understand what happened. Wanting answers does not mean blaming anyone, and nothing on this page says that the hospital or anyone who works there did anything wrong.

We explain the general medical background, the practical steps you can take now, and the kinds of help available for your child. We also add the California legal rules that matter, including the strict deadlines, in separate sections below. Read it at your own pace, in English or Spanish, and call us when you are ready. Talking with a lawyer about your questions is free.

Labor and delivery at Adventist Health White Memorial in Los Angeles

Adventist Health White Memorial is a hospital in Boyle Heights, east of downtown Los Angeles, at 1720 E. Cesar E. Chavez Avenue. According to the state's records, it is run by a non-profit corporation, and its parent organization is Adventist Health. The hospital's own maternity page lists the Oscar De La Hoya Labor and Delivery Center, large private delivery rooms, childbirth and breastfeeding classes, maternity tours, and help with Medi-Cal enrollment through bilingual eligibility liaisons. It also describes a free newborn support program, the First 5 LA Welcome Baby Program, and says it is a Baby-Friendly USA hospital.

For babies who need extra care, the hospital's maternity page states that it has a Level III NICU for premature and full-term newborns with advanced medical needs. According to the hospital's 2024 report to the state (HCAI), the hospital cared for 3,033 newborns in its newborn nursery in 2024. The same report shows 28 licensed intensive-care newborn beds and 504 NICU discharges in 2024. These numbers show a busy program that serves many families in the surrounding community.

We mention these facts only so you know what services the hospital describes. A hospital with a NICU is built to handle high-risk deliveries, and many babies who spend time there do very well. If your own experience left you with questions, the sections below explain how families usually find answers. Hospital phone: (323) 268-5000.

Birth injuries families ask about after a difficult delivery

A birth injury is harm to a baby that happens during labor, delivery or the first hours of life. Some are caused by a lack of oxygen or blood flow to the brain, called hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). Cooling treatment, called therapeutic hypothermia, is the standard treatment for moderate or severe HIE in newborns; medical reviews describe starting it within about six hours of birth and keeping it going for 72 hours, with an MRI of the brain afterward to see how much the brain was affected. Cerebral palsy is a group of lifelong movement and posture disorders. The CDC explains that most cases, about 85 to 90 percent, are congenital, meaning the brain damage or abnormal development began before or during birth, and that in many of them the cause is never found. The CDC also notes that loss of oxygen at birth is now thought to explain only a small share of cases.

Other injuries involve the nerves and bones. Erb's palsy, or brachial plexus birth injury, happens when the nerves running from the neck to the arm are stretched. Medical references list shoulder dystocia, a large baby, maternal diabetes and instrument-assisted delivery as known risk factors, although they do not reliably predict which babies are hurt. Many babies recover on their own or with therapy, and some have lasting weakness. A broken collarbone can look much like a nerve injury because the baby may not move the arm, so doctors examine and image the baby to tell the two apart. Skull fractures and bleeding inside or around the brain are less common and are found by ultrasound, CT or MRI.

Infections also matter. Group B strep (GBS) is a common bacterium in many healthy adults, and it can make a newborn very sick if it is passed on around delivery, which is why pregnant patients are routinely screened. Mothers can be injured too: heavy bleeding after delivery (postpartum hemorrhage), tears, infection and anesthesia complications are among the maternal injuries families ask about. Every one of these conditions can happen even when everyone does everything right. Whether a particular outcome could have been prevented is a question for a careful review of the records, not for a general web page.

Warning signs in the first days, weeks and months

In the first days, doctors and nurses watch for signs that a baby had trouble during birth: a very low Apgar score that does not improve, difficulty starting to breathe, a limp or very stiff body, seizures, trouble feeding, a weak cry, or a need for breathing support or transfer to the NICU. Parents may be told the baby needs cooling, brain monitoring or an MRI. If you were told any of these things and did not understand why, write down what you remember and ask the care team to explain it again in your language.

In the first weeks and months, signs can be quieter. A baby who always favors one arm, does not move one arm the way the other moves, or cries when that shoulder is touched should be checked. So should a baby who is unusually stiff or floppy, who arches the back and neck, whose head lags when picked up, or who has frequent unexplained seizures or twitching. The CDC lists, for babies under six months, head lag, stiffness or floppiness, and legs that stiffen and cross when held upright. After six months, not rolling over or not bringing both hands together are signs to mention to the pediatrician.

Later in the first year, watch for a baby who uses only one side of the body, scoots instead of crawling on all fours, misses sitting or crawling milestones, or has trouble with feeding and swallowing. The CDC cautions that some babies with these signs do not have cerebral palsy, which is why a developmental evaluation matters. Do not wait to see if it passes. Early therapy helps children, and early records help families understand what happened.

Who may be responsible in a birth injury claim

Many people are involved in a delivery, and a claim looks at who made which decisions. Depending on the facts, the people who may be involved include the labor and delivery nurses and other hospital staff, the obstetrician, a midwife, an anesthesiologist, a neonatologist or pediatrician, and the medical group or the hospital that employs or supervises them. No one is responsible just because a baby was hurt; a claim asks whether the care met the accepted standard and whether that care caused the harm.

One question that surprises many families is who employs whom. Nurses and technicians are often hospital employees. Doctors, however, are often independent physicians or members of a separate medical group who have privileges to treat patients at the hospital but are not hospital employees. This matters because it affects who must be notified and which insurance applies. If your obstetrician did not work for the hospital, that does not mean you have no options; it just means the review looks at each person's role.

Sorting this out takes the records. The chart shows who was present, who was called, when, and what was ordered. An independent review of those records is how a family learns whether there is a basis for a claim at all, and against whom. We do not decide that from a web page, and we would never ask you to assume anything about a hospital or a doctor in advance.

How an independent expert review of a delivery works

An independent review begins with the complete medical records of the mother and the baby, from prenatal visits through discharge, plus the baby's NICU records and later therapy and specialist notes. Physicians who practice in the relevant fields, such as obstetrics, neonatology and pediatric neurology, then read them. They are not the doctors who treated you, and their job is to give an honest opinion about whether the care met accepted standards and whether it is linked to your child's condition.

Experts look at specific pieces of evidence. The fetal heart rate monitoring strips show how the baby was tolerating labor, minute by minute. The Apgar scores, taken at one and five minutes after birth, describe the baby's condition at the start. Umbilical cord blood gases measure acidity and oxygen levels at birth. Brain MRI and ultrasound show the pattern and timing of any brain injury, and the NICU notes record the baby's seizures, treatment and response. Together, these help answer whether a problem developed before labor, during labor or after delivery.

The review can also point toward a different answer. Sometimes the experts find that the care was appropriate and the condition was not preventable. That is a real and valuable answer for a family that has been wondering for months or years. If the experts do see a problem, the next steps are laid out in the legal sections of this page, including the written notice that California requires before a medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed.

What to do now: a step-by-step guide for families

First, take care of your child and yourself. Keep every medical appointment, follow the therapy plan, and ask for referrals to the specialists your baby needs. Second, start a simple file: dates, names of the people you remember, what you were told, photographs, discharge papers, bills and insurance letters. Write down your own memories of the labor soon, because details fade. Do not post about the situation on social media.

Third, request the records. The hospital describes how to ask for them in the records section below. Ask for the mother's chart and the baby's chart as separate requests, and ask specifically for the fetal monitoring tracings, which can be stored separately from the paper chart or the typed summary. Fourth, talk to a lawyer early. Deadlines in California are strict, they can be much shorter for a parent's own claim than for the child's claim, and they can start on the date of the event, not the day you learned of a problem. A conversation costs nothing, and we handle birth-injury cases on a contingency basis, so there is no fee unless there is a recovery.

Fifth, sign up for early support while all of this is sorted out. Therapy and early intervention do not depend on a legal case. Sixth, you decide the pace. Some families want a quick review and some want to wait; either is fine, as long as you know the deadlines that apply to you. Call us and we will explain which ones those are.

Support for your child while the case is reviewed

A child's care should never wait for a legal answer. Physical, occupational and speech therapy, feeding support, specialist visits and equipment are often available through insurance. Many Los Angeles families have Medi-Cal, and children with certain eligible conditions can be referred to California Children's Services (CCS) for specialty care. The hospital's maternity page also mentions bilingual eligibility liaisons who help with Medi-Cal. Ask the pediatrician or the hospital social worker which programs apply to your child.

For babies under three, California's Early Start program provides free evaluation and, when eligible, early intervention services such as therapy and family support. It is delivered through the regional centers, and in the Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles area the regional center is the Eastern Los Angeles Regional Center. See the Early Start section below for how to ask for an evaluation. Parents can make the request themselves; a doctor's referral is helpful but you do not need to wait for one.

We cannot promise any result from a case, and we do not want a family to put their hopes on one. What we can do is help you gather information, understand your child's likely long-term needs, and decide whether a claim makes sense. In serious birth-injury cases, the lifelong cost of care is often the main issue, so a realistic plan for your child's future is worth building from the beginning.

Deadlines for a birth-injury case in California

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.

Before a medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed in California, the doctor or hospital must get written warning. Under Code of Civil Procedure § 364, the health care provider must receive at least 90 days’ notice of the intention to sue. No special form is required, but the notice must state the legal basis of the claim, the type of loss and the specific injuries suffered. Under § 364(d), if the notice is served within the last 90 days of the filing deadline, the deadline is extended 90 days from the date of service. The notice is a required step, and it is often the moment a case moves from questions to formal action.

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 Adventist Health White Memorial

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.

Adventist Health White Memorial handles medical record requests through the Adventist Health Health Information Management process. According to the system's page, you can use the online patient request form, or print the Authorization to Release Medical Information form (available in English and Spanish) and send a scanned copy to MedRecords@AH.org, or send it by fax or mail. Many records also appear in the MyAdventistHealth portal, but not all of them, so request the rest in writing. The page lists the White Memorial site at 1720 East Cesar Chavez Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90033, phone (323) 268-5000, fax (323) 881-8742, open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and says walk-in requests are not available. Requests are typically completed within 14 business days, and fees may apply to copies sent to you. Make separate requests for your own chart and your baby's chart, and ask for the fetal monitoring tracings, labor and delivery notes, and NICU records.

The hospital’s medical records page →

Where a case from Los Angeles would be filed

A birth-injury case from a Los Angeles County hospital would usually be filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles. The court's civil unlimited cases, which include larger personal injury and medical malpractice claims, are heard at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012, and the court's own department pages list many civil courtrooms there. The court assigns the case to a department after filing, so the exact courtroom can change. Most filings are made electronically.

Stanley Mosk Courthouse, Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles → — 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Help for your child now: Early Start in Los Angeles County

Early Start is California's free early intervention program for babies and toddlers under three who have developmental delays or are at risk for them. It is run through the regional centers of the Department of Developmental Services. According to the state's regional center listing, the Eastern Los Angeles Regional Center (ELARC) serves the East Los Angeles health district, among others; to confirm that it serves your address, use the state's regional center lookup or call. ELARC's main office is at 1000 South Fremont Avenue, Alhambra, CA 91803, phone (626) 299-4700, and its Whittier satellite office is at 13215 Penn Street, Suite 410, Whittier, phone (562) 698-0146. You can also call the statewide line, 1-800-515-BABY, to be connected with free resources. Ask for an Early Start evaluation, and tell them about any NICU stay or concerns about movement.

Eastern Los Angeles Regional Center (ELARC) →

Key facts

Questions parents ask

Other Los Angeles County hospitals we cover

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center · Miller Children’s & Women’s Long Beach · Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center · Kaiser Permanente Downey · Antelope Valley Medical Center · Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park · Los Angeles birth injury lawyers →

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

Beverly Law is an independent law firm. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or speaking for Adventist Health White Memorial or Adventist Health. 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.