If your baby was born at Providence St. Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley, San Bernardino County, and you are now worried about how your child is growing, moving or feeding, this page is for you. It is written for mothers, fathers and grandparents who want plain answers about birth injuries, what the warning signs look like, and what choices a family has. Nothing here is a judgment about any hospital or any person. Most births end well, and many health problems in newborns have causes that no one could have prevented.
According to the hospital's own website, Providence St. Mary Medical Center offers labor and delivery, a mother/baby unit and a Level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at 18300 Highway 18 in Apple Valley. According to the hospital's 2024 report to the state (HCAI), the hospital cared for 1,292 newborns in its newborn nursery that year and reported 8 licensed intensive-care newborn beds and 353 NICU discharges. Those numbers tell you about the size of the program, and nothing more.
We explain the medical terms in everyday language, point you to trusted medical sources, and describe how an independent review of a delivery works. You will also find how to ask the hospital for your records, which court would usually hear a San Bernardino County case, and how to ask for free early-intervention services for a baby under 3. This page is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not make you a client of Beverly Law.
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At a glance: Providence St. Mary Medical Center
| Address | 18300 Highway 18, Apple Valley, CA 92307 |
| County | San Bernardino County |
| Health system / operator | Providence |
| Type of hospital | Private nonprofit hospital |
| Newborns in 2024 | 1,292 (report to the state, HCAI) |
| Licensed NICU beds | 8 |
| NICU level | Level III |
| Main phone | 760-242-2311 |
| Hospital website | providence.org/locations/st-mary-medical-center |
Sources: HCAI — 2024 Hospital Annual Utilization Report and the hospital’s own website.
Labor and Delivery at Providence St. Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley
Providence St. Mary Medical Center is a Providence hospital at 18300 Highway 18 in Apple Valley. Its Women and Infant Services page lists labor and delivery, a mother/baby unit, childbirth and breastfeeding classes, a Baby-Friendly designation and a Maternal Wellness WarmLine for mental health support. The main hospital phone number is 760-242-2311. The state classifies the hospital as a non-profit corporation, and we treat it as a private nonprofit hospital for legal purposes.
The hospital's NICU page describes a Level III neonatal intensive care unit directed by neonatologists, with neonatal nurses, respiratory therapists, lactation consultants, dietitians and social workers on the care team. In its 2024 report to the state (HCAI), the hospital listed 8 licensed intensive-care newborn beds and 353 NICU discharges, and said that 1,292 newborns were cared for in the newborn nursery.
Families from Apple Valley, Victorville, Hesperia, Adelanto and the rest of the High Desert often deliver here because it is close to home. That is a good reason to choose a hospital. If something about your baby's health has worried you since the birth, the next sections explain what families commonly ask about.
Birth Injuries Families Ask About After a Delivery
Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is brain injury caused by too little oxygen or blood flow around the time of birth. Doctors may treat eligible full-term babies with controlled cooling (therapeutic hypothermia) for about 72 hours, started within the first hours of life, and use MRI and brain monitoring to follow the baby. Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement and posture disorders that comes from abnormal development of, or damage to, the developing brain. The CDC says most cases begin before or during birth, that the cause is often unknown, and that lack of oxygen during birth accounts for only a small share. A baby with HIE does not always develop CP, and a baby with CP did not always have HIE.
Erb's palsy, also called neonatal brachial plexus palsy, is weakness or loss of movement in an arm after the nerves near the shoulder are stretched or compressed. MedlinePlus lists shoulder dystocia, a larger-than-average baby, breech birth and maternal obesity among the risk factors, and notes that most babies recover fully within 3 to 4 months, while some have lasting weakness and need specialist care. A broken collarbone can look similar but does not involve nerve damage, and it usually heals quickly. Skull fractures, bruising and bleeding in or around the brain are other injuries that doctors look for when a newborn is fussy, floppy, or has swelling or a soft spot that looks unusual.
Infections also matter. Group B Streptococcus (GBS) lives harmlessly in many adults, but the CDC explains that it can pass to a baby during delivery and cause sepsis, pneumonia or meningitis in a newborn, which is why pregnant women are screened and given antibiotics in labor when needed. Mothers can be hurt too: heavy bleeding after birth (postpartum hemorrhage), infection, tears and blood clots are known complications of childbirth. All of this is general medical information from the sources listed at the end of this page. It is not a statement about any particular hospital or birth.
Warning Signs of a Birth Injury in the First Days, Weeks and Months
In the first days, parents and nurses watch for trouble breathing, a weak or high-pitched cry, poor feeding or trouble latching, unusual sleepiness, a baby who is very stiff or very floppy, seizures (which can look like repeated jerking, lip smacking or staring), low body temperature, fever, a yellow color that deepens quickly, or an arm that does not move. A swelling on the head, a lump over the collarbone or crying every time you lift one arm should be mentioned to the pediatrician right away.
Over the first weeks and months, the CDC lists signs of cerebral palsy to discuss with a doctor. Before 6 months these include head lag when the baby is lifted, stiffness or floppiness, arching of the back and neck, and stiff, crossed legs. After 6 months they include not rolling over, difficulty bringing hands together or to the mouth, and reaching with one hand while the other stays fisted. After 10 months, lopsided crawling or scooting on the bottom can be a sign. Missing speech, hearing or vision milestones, repeated seizures and trouble swallowing also deserve attention.
Having one of these signs does not mean your baby has a birth injury. Some babies without CP show them too, and many babies catch up. The safe step is a developmental evaluation. Write down what you see, with dates, and take short videos on your phone, because they help doctors and therapists later.
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Who May Be Responsible in a Birth-Injury Claim
Many people take part in a delivery, and who may be responsible depends on facts that only the records can show. Possible parties can include the hospital, through its nurses and other employed staff, as well as the obstetrician, a certified nurse-midwife, an anesthesiologist, a neonatologist or pediatrician, and the medical group that employs or contracts with them. A claim is never assumed. It starts as a question to be answered by review.
One of the most common questions is what happens if the delivering doctor did not work for the hospital. Many physicians are independent or belong to separate medical groups that bill separately. In that case the hospital may answer for its own nurses and staff, and the doctor and the group may answer for the doctor's decisions. Which one applies is decided from employment and contract documents and the chart, not from the badge a person wore.
Whether the hospital is private, public or a Kaiser facility also changes the process. Providence St. Mary is classified in our review as a private nonprofit hospital. California sets strict deadlines for these claims, and parents' own claims can have shorter deadlines than the child's claim, so it is wise to ask a lawyer early even if you are not sure that anything went wrong.
How an Independent Expert Review of a Delivery Works
An independent review begins with the complete records for both mother and baby. Reviewers look at the prenatal chart, the labor and delivery notes, the fetal heart monitoring strips (the printed or digital record of the baby's heartbeat and the mother's contractions), medication and anesthesia records, and the timing of key decisions such as when a doctor was called or a cesarean was considered.
They also study what happened after birth: Apgar scores at 1 and 5 minutes, umbilical cord blood gases that show the baby's acid level at birth, resuscitation notes, NICU notes, lab results, seizure monitoring, and brain imaging such as ultrasound and MRI. Obstetricians, neonatologists, pediatric neurologists and nurses may each read the chart from their own field.
The question the experts ask is not whether the outcome was sad, but whether the care met accepted medical standards and whether any departure actually caused the injury. Often the answer is that it did not, and families deserve to know that too. Experts also estimate a child's future needs, such as therapy, equipment and care, because a claim is built on those facts.
What to Do Now: Step by Step
First, take care of your child's health. Keep every pediatric, neurology and therapy appointment, and ask each doctor to explain the diagnosis in plain words. Second, start a folder with discharge papers, bills, insurance letters, appointment cards, photos and your own dated notes. Do not post details of your child's case on social media.
Third, request the records. Ask Providence St. Mary for the mother's chart and the baby's chart, including the fetal monitoring strips and NICU records, using the steps in the records section below. Ask in writing and keep a copy. Fourth, if your baby is under 3 and has delays, call the regional center for Early Start, described below. Fifth, speak with a birth-injury lawyer early. Deadlines are strict, a written notice to the provider is required before a lawsuit, and a family that waits can lose rights without knowing it.
A first conversation costs you nothing to learn from. Ask any firm how it is paid, what its past experience with birth-injury cases is, and who will actually review your records. You can decide later whether to go forward.
Support for Your Child While the Case Is Reviewed
Your child's care should not wait for a legal case. Physical, occupational and speech therapy, early-intervention services, specialist visits, and equipment such as braces or feeding supplies can often start right away. Children under 3 with a delay or a medical condition that risks one can qualify for Early Start through the regional center that serves San Bernardino County.
Medi-Cal and California Children's Services (CCS) help many families pay for medical care. CCS covers certain serious conditions for eligible children and can connect families to approved specialists. Ask your pediatrician or social worker whether your child qualifies. Support groups for parents of children with cerebral palsy or brachial plexus injuries can also help, because other parents know which clinics and therapists are good. None of these programs depends on a legal claim, and we cannot promise any outcome from one.
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 St. Mary 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.
Providence St. Mary Medical Center handles records through its Health Information Management (HIM) Release of Information office. According to the hospital's medical records page, you can request copies through MyChart (no fee), or download the Patient Request to Access/Disclose a Designated Record Set form, in English or Spanish, and send it by email to SYMROI@providence.org, by fax to 760-813-4434, or by mail to Providence St. Mary Medical Center – Release of Information, 18300 Highway 18, Apple Valley, CA 92307. The phone line is 760-242-2311, extension 6100, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The hospital says the office is not on site, so requests are made remotely, and that California requests can take up to 15 business days. Fill out every section, because incomplete requests are returned. Ask for the mother's chart and the baby's chart, and name the fetal monitoring strips and the NICU records. Records kept by radiology, pathology or clinics must be requested from that department.
The hospital’s medical records page →
Where a case from Apple Valley would be filed
A birth-injury case from Apple Valley would usually be filed in the Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino. The court's Civil Division for the San Bernardino District is in the San Bernardino Justice Center at 247 West Third Street, San Bernardino, CA 92415 (court website: sb-court.org). Where a particular case is filed can depend on where the defendants are and on the amount at stake, so a lawyer confirms the right courthouse before filing.
Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino – San Bernardino Justice Center (Civil Division, San Bernardino District) → — 247 West Third Street, San Bernardino, CA 92415
Help for your child now: Early Start in San Bernardino County
Early Start is California's early-intervention program for babies and toddlers under 3 who have a developmental delay or a condition that may cause one. The California Department of Developmental Services lists Inland Regional Center as the regional center that serves San Bernardino County, including Apple Valley. To ask for a free evaluation, call the Early Start intake line for San Bernardino County, listed by the state as (909) 890-4711, or visit inlandrc.org. You do not need a diagnosis or a lawyer to ask, and a parent or a doctor can make the referral. Phone numbers change, so confirm it on the regional center's website.
Key facts
- Providence St. Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley offers labor and delivery and a Level III NICU, according to the hospital's own website.
- According to the hospital's 2024 report to the state (HCAI), it cared for 1,292 newborns in its nursery and had 8 licensed NICU beds and 353 NICU discharges.
- Many birth-injury signs, like stiffness, floppiness, an arm that does not move or missed milestones, can show up days or months after delivery.
- California sets strict deadlines for birth-injury claims, and parents' own claims can be shorter than the child's, so it is safer to ask early.
- You have the right to request your and your baby's hospital records, and the hospital says California requests can take up to 15 business days.
Questions parents ask
Can I file a birth-injury claim against Providence St. Mary Medical Center?
Any family may ask whether a birth injury was caused by a departure from accepted medical care. The answer comes only after an independent review of the records, and many reviews find no claim. A lawyer can tell you whether your facts justify one and which people or groups may be involved.
How long do I have to file a birth-injury case in California?
California generally gives a child hurt during labor or delivery until his or her eighth birthday, but parents' own claims can have much shorter deadlines. A written notice of intent to sue must also reach the provider at least 90 days before a suit is filed. Because the rules are strict, it is safer to get advice early.
Is Providence St. Mary Medical Center a public hospital?
The state lists the hospital as a non-profit corporation, and we treat it as a private nonprofit hospital. The six-month claim rule that applies to county and University of California hospitals would therefore not usually be the starting point. A lawyer should confirm this for the particular people involved in your delivery.
What if my doctor did not work for the hospital?
That is common. Many doctors are independent or belong to separate medical groups. The hospital may be responsible for its own nurses and staff, and the doctor and the group for the doctor's decisions. The records and contracts show who was responsible for what.
How do I get my fetal monitoring strips from Providence St. Mary?
Send a written request to the hospital's Health Information Management Release of Information office by MyChart, email (SYMROI@providence.org), fax or mail, and ask by name for the fetal monitoring strips and the NICU records. California law gives you the right to your and your baby's records, and the hospital says requests can take up to 15 business days.
Does it cost anything to talk to a lawyer?
Many injury law firms offer a free first conversation and are paid only if there is a recovery, but each firm is different. Ask how the firm charges, what costs you could owe, and get the answer in writing before you sign anything.
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Other San Bernardino County hospitals we cover
Kaiser Permanente Fontana · Loma Linda Children’s Hospital · Kaiser Permanente Ontario Medical Center · Arrowhead Regional Medical Center · San Antonio Regional Hospital · Community Hospital · San Bernardino birth injury lawyers →
Providence St. Mary Medical Center Birth Injury Lawyers — Beverly Law
Free case review for families in Apple Valley. 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 · All California hospitals · California birth injury lawyers · Birth injury guides
Sources
- HCAI — 2024 Hospital Annual Utilization Report (final, October 2025)
- Providence St. Mary Medical Center – Women and Infant Services — Labor and delivery, mother/baby unit, Level III NICU and other maternity services at the hospital.
- Providence St. Mary Medical Center – Neonatal Intensive Care Unit — Level III NICU and the NICU care team.
- Providence St. Mary Medical Center – Medical Records — How to request records, contact details and processing time.
- HCAI 2024 Hospital Annual Utilization Report — Newborn nursery, licensed NICU bed and NICU discharge numbers for 2024.
- CDC – About Cerebral Palsy — What cerebral palsy is, its causes and early signs.
- CDC – About Group B Strep — GBS in newborns and screening and antibiotics in labor.
- MedlinePlus (NIH) – Brachial plexus injury in newborns — Causes, symptoms and outlook of Erb's palsy and related nerve injuries.
- Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino – Civil Division — Location of the Civil Division at the San Bernardino Justice Center.
- California Department of Developmental Services – Regional Center Listings — Inland Regional Center serves Riverside and San Bernardino counties; Early Start intake contact.
- Code of Civil Procedure § 340.5
- Code of Civil Procedure § 364
- 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 Providence St. Mary 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.