Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center Birth Injury Lawyers

If your baby was born at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, at 501 S. Buena Vista Street in Burbank, Los Angeles County, and something about the delivery or the first days of life has worried you, this page is for you. It is written for parents, grandparents and caregivers who want plain answers about birth injuries, what the warning signs look like, and what steps are open to a family that has questions.

Providence Saint Joseph is a private nonprofit hospital. According to the hospital's 2024 report to the state (HCAI), it cared for 1,998 newborns in its newborn nursery that year, it has 20 licensed intensive-care newborn beds, and it had 286 NICU discharges. Most babies born in Burbank and the surrounding communities do well. This page is not about any one birth or any one team. It is a guide for families who want to understand their options.

Nothing here is a diagnosis or a judgment about anyone's care. A birth injury case begins with questions: What happened? Is my child's condition connected to the delivery? What will my child need? The sections below explain the medical terms, how an independent review of a delivery works, how to get your records, and what support may be available while you find answers.

Labor and Delivery at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank

According to the hospital's own website, Labor and Delivery at Providence Saint Joseph is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on the third floor of the Northeast Tower. The hospital describes labor, delivery and recovery suites with monitoring and delivery capabilities, and lists prenatal and birth services such as non-stress tests, fetal monitoring, ultrasounds, vaginal delivery and cesarean section. It also mentions board-certified perinatologists for high-risk pregnancies, genetic counseling and lactation consultants. The unit's phone number on the hospital site is 818-847-6300.

The hospital also has a neonatal intensive care unit. The hospital's NICU page describes a 20-bed Level III NICU and lists treatments such as therapeutic hypothermia, phototherapy, oxygen therapy and advanced imaging. The state's 2024 hospital report shows the same 20 licensed intensive-care newborn beds, with 286 NICU discharges in 2024 and 1,998 newborns cared for in the newborn nursery. These are the hospital's own numbers reported to the state (HCAI), and they say nothing about any individual delivery.

Providence Saint Joseph is run by Providence, a nonprofit health system, and serves families from Burbank, Glendale, the San Fernando Valley and other parts of Los Angeles County. If you delivered here and now have concerns, the most useful first step is usually not to guess, but to gather information: your records, your child's diagnoses, and an independent medical opinion.

Birth Injuries Families Ask About After a Difficult Delivery

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is brain injury from too little oxygen and blood flow around the time of birth. The Cleveland Clinic explains that it is graded mild, moderate or severe, and that it affects an estimated 1 to 6 of every 1,000 births. Cooling treatment, called therapeutic hypothermia, is used in some newborns with moderate or severe HIE and has to start within hours of birth. HIE can lead to later problems such as seizures, learning difficulties or cerebral palsy, although many babies with mild HIE recover well.

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement and posture disorders that begin in early childhood. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the NICHD explain that CP results from damage to, or abnormal development of, the parts of the brain that control movement, and that in many children the exact cause is never found. Some cases are linked to events before or around birth, such as low oxygen or bleeding in the brain. Many signs do not show until months after birth, which is why families are often told about CP only in the first or second year.

Other injuries families ask about include Erb's palsy and other brachial plexus injuries, where the nerves that run from the neck to the arm are stretched during delivery. NINDS notes that some babies recover on their own in the first months, while others need therapy or surgery. Newborn brain bleeds, a broken collarbone or skull fracture, and infections such as group B strep (GBS) can also happen. Mothers can be hurt too: heavy bleeding after delivery (postpartum hemorrhage), tears, and infection are among the conditions that deserve follow-up. These are general medical facts and are not a statement about any particular birth.

Warning Signs of a Birth Injury in the First Days, Weeks and Months

In the first days, signs families and nurses watch for include a low Apgar score, trouble breathing, a weak or unusual cry, a floppy or very stiff body, seizures or jerking movements, poor feeding, very low blood sugar, and a baby who is hard to wake. A baby who needed cooling treatment, breathing support or a stay in the NICU should have clear follow-up instructions at discharge.

In the following weeks and months, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists early signs that can point to cerebral palsy or another developmental problem: not holding the head up, stiff or loose muscles, strongly favoring one side, not rolling over or reaching, feeding or swallowing problems, and missing the milestones expected at 2, 4, 6 and 9 months. An arm that stays still or limp on one side after birth may signal a brachial plexus injury.

A sign does not prove a birth injury, and many children with delays have causes unrelated to delivery. Still, if you notice any of these, tell your pediatrician and ask for a developmental evaluation. Write down dates and what you saw. Early evaluation helps your child whatever the cause, and your notes help later if you decide to ask questions about the delivery.

Who May Be Responsible in a Birth-Injury Claim?

In any birth-injury review, the question is who was involved in the care and whether the care met accepted medical standards. Depending on the facts, that may include the hospital's nurses and other staff, the obstetrician, a midwife, an anesthesiologist, a neonatologist or pediatrician, and the medical group the doctors belong to. A review looks at what each person was responsible for. It does not assume anyone made a mistake.

One point confuses many families: many doctors who deliver babies in hospitals are not hospital employees. An obstetrician may run an independent practice or belong to a separate medical group, and may have privileges to deliver at the hospital. Nurses and technicians are more often employed by the hospital. Who employs whom can affect who may be named in a claim, how insurance applies, and which deadlines matter, so it is worth identifying every provider on your records.

Because Providence Saint Joseph is a private nonprofit hospital, the six-month claim rules that apply to county and University of California hospitals are not the usual starting point for a birth here. Even so, strict deadlines apply to every birth-injury case in California, and the verified legal notes on this page explain them. If you are unsure which kind of hospital or which provider was involved, ask early.

How an Independent Expert Review of a Delivery Works

An independent review means that a qualified doctor who was not involved in the birth reads the records and gives an opinion. A lawyer usually asks obstetric, neonatal, nursing and pediatric neurology experts to review what happened and how the baby has done since. The goal is to answer one question honestly: is the child's condition connected to the care around birth, or is it from something else?

The reviewers look closely at the fetal heart monitoring strips, which show the baby's heart rate during labor, along with the Apgar scores at 1 and 5 minutes, umbilical cord blood gases, which show how much oxygen the baby had and how acidic the blood was, the delivery notes, medication records and nursing charts. For the baby, they read the NICU notes, lab results, seizure monitoring, and brain imaging such as MRI. These records tell the story in time order, and gaps can matter as much as entries.

A review can end in two ways. Sometimes the experts find that the care was appropriate and the condition has another cause. That is useful for a family to know. In other cases the experts may identify concerns that justify moving to formal action. A review costs the family nothing at Beverly Law and does not commit you to anything.

What Your Family Can Do Now: Step by Step

First, take care of your child and yourself. Keep every pediatric, specialist and therapy appointment, and ask each doctor to explain the diagnosis in plain words. Second, request the complete records for both mother and baby, including the fetal monitoring strips, which are sometimes kept separately from the main chart. Ask for the NICU records, imaging reports and billing records as well.

Third, write down what you remember while it is fresh: the timeline of labor, who came into the room, what you were told, and when you first noticed any concern. Keep photographs, discharge papers and any messages from the hospital. Fourth, avoid signing any release or posting details publicly before you understand your options.

Fifth, talk to a lawyer who handles birth-injury cases and ask for a free review. Deadlines are strict, and a notice of intent to sue is required before a medical malpractice case can be filed, so waiting can reduce your choices. Asking questions does not mean you must file anything. Many families simply want to know the facts before they decide.

Support While Your Case Is Being Reviewed: Therapy, Regional Center, Medi-Cal and CCS

Your child's care should not wait for any legal question. Physical, occupational and speech therapy, specialist visits and equipment are often covered through your health plan or Medi-Cal. California Children's Services (CCS) is a state program that can help children with certain serious medical conditions, and your pediatrician or the NICU social worker can tell you whether your child may qualify.

For children under 3 with delays or a diagnosed condition, California's Early Start program provides evaluation and services through the regional center that serves your home address. Services are free to eligible families. Families in Burbank are served by Frank D. Lanterman Regional Center. After age 3, services usually continue through the regional center or the school district.

Support groups for families of children with cerebral palsy, brachial plexus injuries or HIE can also help. Nobody can promise any particular result from a claim. What a family can do is make sure the child gets care now and keep good records for the future.

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 Providence Saint Joseph

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.

Records for Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center are handled through the hospital's health information (medical records) process on the Providence website. According to that page, you can request copies through your MyChart account, which is free for electronically kept records, or download the Patient Request for Access form and fax it to 866-710-0155. Mail requests go to Sharecare, 2461 E. Orangethorpe Ave, Suite 102, Fullerton, CA 92831, and the records line is 714-882-5873. Radiology records are requested separately at 818-847-4140. Ask for the mother's chart, the baby's chart and the NICU chart, and specifically for the fetal heart monitoring strips and cord blood gas results. The hospital's medical records office can also be reached at 818-847-3801.

The hospital’s medical records page →

Where a case from Burbank would be filed

A birth-injury case that is filed in Los Angeles County court would usually be filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, in the civil unlimited personal injury system, which is centered at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, 111 N. Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. The court's local rules require unlimited civil injury cases to be filed in the Central District at Stanley Mosk or in the North District, and the court's own filing locator should be checked for the correct courthouse for each case. Court information is at lacourt.ca.gov. Many cases are resolved before trial, and a lawyer can explain where and when a case would be filed.

Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles – Stanley Mosk Courthouse → — 111 N. 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 who have a developmental delay, a diagnosed condition or a high risk of delay. Families in Burbank are served by Frank D. Lanterman Regional Center, 3303 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles. To ask for an evaluation, call the center's intake unit at 213-252-8610 (main line 213-383-1300) or start at lanterman.org, and say that you want an Early Start evaluation for your baby. You do not need a diagnosis or a lawyer to ask, and a referral from your pediatrician can help.

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 Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center or Providence. 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.