Community Regional Medical Center Birth Injury Lawyers

If your baby was born at Community Regional Medical Center at 2823 Fresno Street in Fresno, Fresno County, and the delivery was difficult or your child is now having health or development problems, this page is for you. It explains, in plain language, what birth injuries are, which warning signs to watch for, who may be responsible in a birth-injury claim, and what steps a family can take to understand its options.

Community Regional Medical Center is part of Community Medical Centers, a nonprofit health system in the Central Valley. According to the hospital's 2024 report to the state (HCAI), it cared for 3,680 newborns in its newborn nursery that year, and its neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) has 84 licensed beds and recorded 819 discharges. Many families in Fresno and the surrounding area begin their lives as parents here, and most go home with healthy babies.

This page is written for parents, grandparents and caregivers who have questions after a birth. It is general education, not legal advice, and it does not say that anything went wrong at any hospital. A birth injury can happen even when everyone does their best, and only a careful review of the medical records can show what happened in a particular case. You do not have to decide anything today. Understanding your options is a good first step.

Labor and delivery at Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno

According to the hospital's own website, labor and delivery is offered at Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno and at Clovis Community Medical Center. The hospital says its Community facilities together deliver about 8,000 babies a year, and that more than 60 percent of the babies born in Fresno County are born at Community facilities. The website also lists perinatal nurse navigators, lactation consultants, parent education classes, doula partnerships, mental health and postpartum depression resources, and a Mother's Resource Center at Community Regional.

The hospital describes its NICU as a Level III neonatal intensive care unit and as the only Level III NICU in the region. Level III generally means a unit that can care for babies who are born very early or who are seriously ill. In its 2024 report to the state (HCAI), the hospital reported 84 licensed intensive-care newborn beds and 819 NICU discharges, along with 3,680 newborns cared for in the newborn nursery.

These numbers show a hospital that serves a large community and many families in need of specialized newborn care. Being admitted to a NICU does not by itself mean that anything went wrong. Many babies need extra help because they were born early, were small, or had breathing or feeding trouble. Still, if your baby needed intensive care and you were never given a clear explanation, you are allowed to ask questions and to ask for your records.

Birth injuries families ask about after a difficult delivery

Families often search for a few conditions after a hard birth. One is hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), a type of brain injury caused by too little oxygen or blood flow to the baby's brain around the time of birth. A Cochrane review of clinical trials found that cooling treatment (therapeutic hypothermia) for term and late-preterm babies with moderate or severe HIE reduces the risk of death without increasing major disability in survivors, when it is started within the first six hours of life. This is general medical information and says nothing about any one hospital.

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders that affect movement, balance and posture. The CDC explains that it is the most common motor disability in childhood, that most cases (85 to 90 percent) are congenital, meaning they begin before or during birth, and that the specific cause is often unknown. The CDC also notes that lack of oxygen during birth was once thought to be a leading cause but appears to account for only a small number of cases. CP does not get worse over time, but it is lifelong, and early therapy matters.

Other conditions families ask about include Erb's palsy and other brachial plexus birth injuries, which affect the nerves that control the arm and hand and are often described as happening when the head and neck are stretched away from the shoulder during delivery; many mild cases improve with therapy, while others need surgery. Families also ask about newborn brain bleeds, a broken collarbone or skull fracture, and infections such as group B strep (GBS). The CDC explains that pregnant women can pass GBS to the baby during delivery, that it is the cause of most infections in a baby's first week, and that screening in pregnancy and antibiotics during labor are the usual way to prevent it. Finally, mothers can be injured too, for example by heavy bleeding (hemorrhage) after delivery, tears, or infection. Not every one of these conditions is caused by a mistake; a medical and legal review is how a family learns whether one was preventable.

Warning signs in the first days, weeks and months

In the first days, parents and nurses watch for trouble breathing, a very weak or very high-pitched cry, seizures (jerking, stiffening or staring spells), poor feeding or trouble sucking, unusual sleepiness or floppiness, a low or high temperature, and skin that looks blue, gray or very yellow. A baby who needs to be cooled, placed on a ventilator, or moved to the NICU right after birth deserves a clear explanation of why.

Over the following weeks, some problems appear gradually. Examples are one arm that stays still or limp, a baby who does not seem to see or hear well, constant irritability, feeding problems that do not improve, or a head that seems to grow too fast or too slowly. If an arm is not moving normally, ask the pediatrician about brachial plexus injury early, because therapy usually begins in the first weeks.

Over the first months and years, the CDC lists signs of possible cerebral palsy such as head lag when the baby is lifted, stiffness or floppiness, arching of the back, stiff or crossed legs, not rolling over by about six months, bringing only one hand to the mouth, or lopsided crawling. Some children without CP show these signs too, so a delay is a reason to ask, not a diagnosis. The CDC also says you do not need to wait for a doctor's referral or a diagnosis to contact your state's early intervention program. Write down what you notice, with dates, and share it with your child's doctor.

Who may be responsible in a birth-injury claim

A delivery involves many people, and who may be responsible depends on the facts. Those who may be involved include the hospital and its employed nurses, labor and delivery staff and technicians; the obstetrician or family physician who delivered the baby; a midwife; the anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist; neonatologists and NICU providers; and the medical group that employs or contracts with a doctor.

One important question is whether a doctor was an employee of the hospital or an independent physician with privileges to practice there. Many obstetricians, anesthesiologists and newborn specialists are in private practice or work for separate medical groups, and each may carry its own insurance. Hospital nurses and staff, on the other hand, are generally hospital employees. The paperwork a family signed at admission and the medical record often show who was involved, which is another reason to request the full chart.

Responsibility is not assumed. A claim is built by a careful review of what the records show, what a reasonably careful provider would have done in the same situation, and whether any difference caused the injury. Many bad outcomes come from medical conditions no one could prevent. A lawyer cannot decide this alone; an independent expert reviews the care, and the family decides what to do with that opinion.

How an independent expert review of a delivery works

An independent review starts with the records. The reviewer, usually a physician in the same field and often a nurse expert as well, reads the prenatal chart, the admission notes, the labor and delivery record and the NICU notes. Key items are the fetal heart monitoring strips, which show the baby's heart rate and the mother's contractions over time, the Apgar scores given at one and five minutes after birth, and the umbilical cord blood gas results, which measure acid levels that can reflect how well the baby was getting oxygen.

The reviewer also looks at the timeline: when staff noticed changes, whom they called, how quickly decisions were made, and what was written down. Imaging such as a brain MRI or head ultrasound, EEG results, lab work and later therapy notes help show the nature and extent of the injury and when it likely happened. Sometimes the placenta pathology report is important, too.

The expert then answers practical questions: Was the care within accepted standards? Could a different course have changed the outcome? What does the child's future medical care look like? A good review can also tell a family that the care was appropriate, which is useful to know. The review is confidential and does not commit you to anything.

What the family can do now, step by step

Step one is to take care of your child and yourself. Keep every follow-up visit and start the therapies your doctors recommend; do not wait for a legal answer to get help. Step two is to write down what you remember about the labor, the delivery and the first days: who you spoke with, what you were told, and when. Keep discharge papers, bills, photos and insurance letters in one folder.

Step three is to request the records. The hospital's website says to complete its Authorization for Disclosure form, available in English and Spanish, and send it to the Health Information Management Department. Ask for both the mother's chart and the baby's chart, including the fetal monitoring strips and NICU notes, and ask for any imaging in a digital copy. Step four is to avoid signing anything from an insurance company and avoid posting about the case online until you have received advice.

Step five is to talk to a birth-injury lawyer early. Deadlines in California are strict and are different depending on the type of hospital and the person bringing the claim, so waiting can close doors. A first conversation does not cost you anything and does not commit you to file a claim. A lawyer can arrange the independent expert review described above and explain, in your language, what the realistic options are.

Support while the case is reviewed

Getting help for your child does not depend on a legal case. In California, babies and toddlers under three who show a developmental delay or who have a condition likely to cause one can be evaluated for Early Start, the state's early intervention program. In Fresno County, Early Start is provided through Central Valley Regional Center. Therapies may include physical, occupational and speech therapy, and services can be provided in your home.

Children with certain serious medical conditions may also qualify for California Children's Services (CCS), and many families use Medi-Cal for medical care and therapies. Eligibility rules differ, so ask your pediatrician's office or the county for current requirements. Your child's pediatrician can refer you to specialists such as neurologists, orthopedic and hand surgeons, and developmental pediatricians.

A birth injury is also hard on parents. Ask your doctor about counseling and parent support groups, and lean on family and trusted community groups. Nothing here is a promise about any result; it is simply a list of places to start.

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 Community Regional 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.

To get your records from Community Regional Medical Center, the hospital's website says to complete its Authorization for Disclosure form (available in English and Spanish) and mail or fax it to the Health Information Management Department, P.O. Box 1232, Fresno, CA 93715; the department's phone is (559) 459-3925 and its fax is (559) 459-2412. The hospital says to allow up to 15 business days and that a reasonable, cost-based fee may be charged. Remember that the mother and the baby each have their own chart, so ask for both, including the fetal monitoring strips, delivery record and NICU notes. The official page is https://www.communitymedical.org/for-patients-families/medical-records.

The hospital’s medical records page →

Where a case from Fresno would be filed

A birth-injury case from Community Regional Medical Center would usually be filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Fresno. According to the court's website, civil unlimited cases are heard at the B. F. Sisk Courthouse, 1130 O Street, Fresno, CA 93721-2220 (https://www.fresno.courts.ca.gov/location/b-f-sisk-courthouse). Where a case belongs can depend on the defendants and other facts, so a lawyer will confirm the right court.

Superior Court of California, County of Fresno – B. F. Sisk Courthouse (Civil Unlimited) → — 1130 O Street, Fresno, CA 93721-2220

Help for your child now: Early Start in Fresno County

Early Start is California's early intervention program for babies and toddlers under 3 with a developmental delay or a condition likely to cause one. In Fresno County it is provided through Central Valley Regional Center (https://www.cvrc.org), 4615 North Marty, Fresno, CA 93722. The state's regional center listing gives 559-276-4300 as the Early Start intake number for the Fresno office, and it asks families to call before sending any health information. You, a parent or a doctor can ask for an evaluation, and you do not need a diagnosis or a lawyer to ask.

Central Valley Regional Center →

Key facts

Questions parents ask

Other Fresno County hospitals we cover

Saint Agnes Medical Center · Clovis Community Medical Center

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 Community Regional Medical Center or Community Medical Centers (Fresno Community Hospital and Medical Center, a nonprofit corporation). 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.