Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center Birth Injury Lawyers

This page is for families who welcomed a baby at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, at 4867 Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, and who now have questions about what happened during labor or delivery. Maybe your baby needed time in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Maybe a doctor has used words like oxygen deprivation, nerve injury or developmental delay. Maybe you simply sense that something about the birth, or your child's development, does not add up.

Our goal is to help you understand your options, not to point fingers. Most births go well, and the staff at any hospital work hard for mothers and babies. But when a child does have a lasting injury, families deserve clear information: what the common birth injuries are, which warning signs matter, how the medical records are reviewed by an independent expert, and which steps to take now so that no right is lost by waiting.

Nothing here is legal advice about your particular case, and nothing here says that any hospital or any person did something wrong. It is a plain-language guide, with medical information from public health sources, to help you decide whether to ask for a confidential review. Because this hospital is part of Kaiser Permanente, we also explain how claims by Kaiser members are usually handled.

Labor and delivery at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center

According to the hospital's own maternity page, Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, at 4867 Sunset Boulevard, offers labor and delivery. The page lists private family birthing suites, private family bonding and postpartum rooms, on-site lactation consultants, vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) and a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The hospital is licensed as Kaiser Foundation Hospital – Los Angeles and is operated by Kaiser Permanente, a nonprofit health system.

According to the hospital's 2024 report to the state (HCAI), the hospital cared for 2,085 newborns in its newborn nursery that year. The same report shows 33 licensed intensive-care newborn beds and 399 NICU discharges in 2024. California's Children's Services program (DHCS) also lists the hospital's NICU and high-risk infant follow-up program as regional services. Those numbers describe the size of the program; they say nothing about the quality of any one birth.

The hospital serves Hollywood, East Hollywood, Los Feliz and neighborhoods across central Los Angeles, and many families who deliver there are Kaiser Permanente health plan members. If your baby was transferred to this NICU from another hospital, or if you delivered here and your child was later treated elsewhere, the records may be spread over more than one place. Knowing where each record sits is the first practical step in any review.

Birth injuries families ask about after a difficult delivery

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a brain injury caused by too little oxygen and blood flow to a baby's brain at or around birth. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) describes it as rare but serious, and notes that cooling therapy (therapeutic hypothermia), started soon after birth, can improve outcomes for babies with moderate or severe HIE. HIE can lead to seizures, feeding problems and, later, cerebral palsy, but many babies with mild findings do well.

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement and posture conditions caused by abnormal development of, or damage to, the developing brain. The CDC reports that most cases are congenital, meaning they begin before or around birth, and lists premature birth, low birth weight, infections in pregnancy, bleeding in the brain and severe untreated jaundice among the risk factors. Mayo Clinic adds that lack of oxygen during a hard labor is one possible cause, though often no single cause is ever found. That is one reason an expert review of the records matters.

Other injuries families ask about include Erb's palsy and other brachial plexus injuries, in which the nerves that run from the neck to the arm are stretched during delivery (NINDS explains that this can happen when a baby's shoulders are impacted), newborn brain bleeds, skull or collarbone (clavicle) fractures, and infections such as group B strep (GBS) that can spread quickly in a newborn. Mothers can also be hurt: heavy bleeding after birth (postpartum hemorrhage), tears and infections are among the complications doctors monitor. Each of these can occur even with excellent care, and each deserves a careful explanation from the medical team.

Warning signs in the first days, weeks and months

In the first days, parents and nurses watch for trouble feeding, a weak or unusually high-pitched cry, floppiness or stiffness, seizures (jerking, lip smacking or staring), difficulty breathing, a very low or high temperature, and a baby who is hard to wake. A baby who was moved to the NICU, needed breathing support or was cooled should have a clear explanation of why. Ask what the diagnosis is, what tests were done and who will follow your child after discharge.

In the first weeks and months, watch for an arm that stays still or limp on one side, a baby who does not follow faces or lights, does not respond to sounds, keeps fists tightly closed after three months, or cannot hold up the head. Persistent arching, stiffness, or trouble swallowing also deserve a call to the pediatrician. Many injuries are not obvious at birth, and CP is often diagnosed only after a baby misses movement milestones.

If something worries you, write down the date, what you saw and what the doctor said, and keep every discharge paper. Do not wait for a diagnosis to be certain before you ask questions. Early evaluation and early therapy help children whether or not a legal claim is ever made.

Who may be responsible in a birth-injury claim?

In a birth-injury case, responsibility may be shared among several people and organizations. The hospital may answer for the nurses, technicians and other staff it employs, including those who monitor the baby's heart rate during labor. Obstetricians, midwives, anesthesiologists, neonatologists and pediatricians may each have a role, depending on who made decisions and when.

Who employs the clinician matters. Some doctors are hospital employees, some belong to a separate medical group, and others are independent physicians with privileges at the hospital. At a Kaiser Permanente facility, care is generally delivered through the Kaiser health plan, the hospital and the medical group that works with them, which is one more reason to ask for the full records and have them reviewed before drawing any conclusion.

Nobody can say who, if anyone, is responsible without reviewing the records. A medical expert looks at what was known, what was done and when, and whether the care met accepted standards. The word may is deliberate: many difficult births involve no fault at all, and a review can also provide peace of mind.

How an independent expert review of the delivery works

A review starts with the complete chart: prenatal records, the labor and delivery notes, the electronic fetal heart monitoring strips, the anesthesia record, the newborn's records and, if applicable, the NICU notes. A qualified physician, often an obstetrician and a neonatologist or pediatric neurologist, reads them and builds a timeline of the labor and birth.

The expert looks closely at the fetal heart monitoring tracing, which records the baby's heart rate and the mother's contractions, and at how the team responded to changes. Other pieces include the Apgar scores at one and five minutes, umbilical cord blood gas results, which show how much acid had built up in the baby's blood, the timing of any cesarean decision, newborn lab work, and brain imaging such as MRI or ultrasound, which can sometimes suggest when an injury happened.

The expert then answers two plain questions: did the care fall below accepted standards, and did that cause the injury? A claim can move forward only when the answer to both is supported. If the answer is no, you will know that, and you will have a better understanding of what happened to your child.

What to do now, step by step

First, take care of your child's medical needs. Keep every follow-up visit with the pediatrician and specialists, and ask about therapy and developmental testing. Second, request your baby's complete records and your own labor and delivery records in writing, including the fetal monitoring strips, and keep a copy of your request.

Third, write down what you remember while it is fresh: the timeline, who you spoke to, what you were told and any concerns you raised. Save photos, discharge papers, bills and insurance letters. Do not post details on social media. Fourth, because strict deadlines apply to birth-injury cases, and some claims, including parents' own claims and claims involving public hospitals, can have much shorter deadlines than the child's, it is safer to talk with a lawyer early. A consultation is a way to learn your options; it does not commit you to anything.

Finally, remember that Kaiser members' claims are generally handled through binding arbitration instead of a jury trial, and the claim must still be started on time. A lawyer who handles these cases can explain how the process works and what it would mean for your family.

Support while the case is reviewed: therapies, Early Start and Medi-Cal

You do not have to wait for a legal answer to get help for your child. Early Start, California's early intervention program for babies and toddlers under 3, offers evaluations and services such as physical, occupational and speech therapy, usually at no cost to families. You can ask for an evaluation through your regional center or your local school district.

If your child has a qualifying condition, California Children's Services (CCS) may help pay for specialty care, and Medi-Cal may cover therapies, equipment and medical visits depending on your family's eligibility. Your Kaiser Permanente care team, social worker or the NICU discharge planner can also point you to follow-up programs. We cannot promise any result from a claim, but getting your child supported early is always worthwhile.

Kaiser members: arbitration instead of a jury

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.

Deadlines for a birth-injury claim 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.

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 Kaiser Permanente Medical Center

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.

Medical records for a Kaiser Permanente patient are requested through Kaiser Permanente's Release of Information (Medical Records) service, which has an online request page at healthy.kaiserpermanente.org/support/medical-requests; you can also call the hospital's main number, (323) 783-4100, and ask for the Health Information Management or release-of-information office. For a baby, a parent or guardian makes the request, and it helps to ask in writing for the complete chart, including the fetal heart monitoring strips, the delivery summary, cord blood gas results and the NICU notes.

The hospital’s medical records page →

Where a case from Los Angeles would be filed

A birth-injury lawsuit that is filed in court in Los Angeles County is usually filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, which handles civil unlimited cases, such as serious personal injury, at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Claims by Kaiser Permanente members, however, usually go to binding arbitration instead of court, so whether your family's claim is heard in court or before an arbitrator depends on your membership agreement.

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

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

Early Start is California's early intervention program for babies and toddlers under 3 with delays or conditions that put development at risk, and evaluation and service coordination are free. For many families in central Los Angeles and Hollywood, the Frank D. Lanterman Regional Center (lanterman.org) is the regional center that serves the area; to confirm which center serves your address, use the lookup on dds.ca.gov. Call the regional center, say you want an Early Start evaluation for your baby and ask for the intake coordinator; your pediatrician can also refer you.

Frank D. Lanterman Regional Center →

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 · Adventist Health White Memorial · Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park · Queen of the Valley Hospital, West Covina · CHA Hollywood Presbyterian · Huntington Hospital, Pasadena · 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 Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center or Kaiser Permanente (Kaiser Foundation Hospitals). 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.