Emanate Health Queen of the Valley Hospital Birth Injury Lawyers

If your baby was born at Emanate Health Queen of the Valley Hospital at 1115 South Sunset Avenue in West Covina, in Los Angeles County, and the delivery or the first days afterward did not go the way you expected, you may have questions that no one has fully answered. This page is for parents, grandparents and caregivers who want to understand what a birth injury is, what warning signs to watch for, and what options exist if a child's condition may be connected to labor, delivery or newborn care.

According to the hospital's 2024 report to the state (HCAI), Queen of the Valley cared for 2,937 newborns in its newborn nursery that year, and it is licensed for 40 intensive-care newborn (NICU) beds, with 387 NICU discharges in 2024. The hospital is run by Emanate Health, a nonprofit organization. Thousands of families in the San Gabriel Valley have their babies here, and the great majority go home healthy. This page does not say that anything went wrong at this hospital. It simply explains how families can get answers if they have concerns.

Nothing here replaces medical advice or legal advice about your own situation. Our goal is to give you plain information, point you to trusted medical sources and official offices, and explain how a careful, independent review of a delivery works so you can decide what to do next, at your own pace.

Labor and delivery at Queen of the Valley Hospital in West Covina

The hospital's own maternity pages describe The Family Birth & Newborn Center at Queen of the Valley Hospital, which offers labor and delivery in West Covina. The hospital's site also describes a 40-bed Level IIIb neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). A NICU of this kind is meant for babies who are born early or who need close medical attention in the first days of life. The state's licensing data lists the same 40 NICU beds.

The numbers the hospital reported to the state for 2024 give a sense of scale: 2,937 newborns cared for in the newborn nursery and 387 NICU discharges. Behind each number is a family. Most births at any hospital go smoothly. A smaller number involve an emergency, a premature baby or a long stay in intensive care, and those are the families who most often ask questions later.

Emanate Health is a nonprofit health system, and Queen of the Valley serves West Covina and the surrounding San Gabriel Valley communities. If you delivered here, you can reach the hospital at 626-962-4011. Knowing the basics about the hospital helps when you request records or talk with a doctor, a specialist or a lawyer about what happened.

Birth injuries families ask about after a difficult delivery

Doctors use the term birth injury for harm to a baby that happens before, during or shortly after delivery. One condition families hear about is hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), a type of brain injury linked to reduced oxygen or blood flow. Cerebral palsy is a group of movement and posture disorders caused by abnormal development of, or damage to, the developing brain. The CDC says most cerebral palsy is congenital, meaning it begins before or around birth, and that in many cases the specific cause is not known. Mayo Clinic notes that oxygen loss during delivery is a less common cause than once believed. Each child is different, and a diagnosis alone does not tell you why it happened.

Other injuries include Erb's palsy and other brachial plexus injuries, in which the nerves running from the neck to the arm are stretched or damaged during birth; bleeding in a newborn's brain; a broken collarbone or skull fracture; and serious infections such as group B strep (GBS). Mothers can also be hurt, for example by heavy bleeding after delivery (postpartum hemorrhage) or tears and infections.

Many of these conditions can happen even when everyone does everything right, and many are treatable or improve with early therapy. Whether any particular injury could have been prevented is a medical question that depends on the records. This section is general information from medical sources, not a statement about any hospital or any birth.

Warning signs of a birth injury in the first days, weeks and months

In the first days, parents and nurses may notice that a baby is very floppy or very stiff, has seizures or odd repeated movements, has trouble feeding, sucking or swallowing, breathes with difficulty, has a weak or unusual cry, or does not move one arm. A baby who needs cooling treatment, a breathing machine or a NICU stay after birth may have had a difficult start, and it is reasonable to ask the care team to explain why.

In the weeks and months that follow, concerns can include missed milestones such as not holding the head up, not rolling over, not following objects with the eyes, favoring one side of the body, very tight or very loose muscles, or ongoing feeding problems. Early signs of cerebral palsy often appear in the first year or two, and some are not clear until later. A pediatrician can screen your child, and you can ask for a referral for an evaluation at any time.

Trust your instincts. If something about your child's development worries you, write down what you notice and the dates. Those notes can help both the doctors and, later, anyone reviewing what happened.

Who may be responsible in a birth-injury claim?

A birth involves many people. Depending on the facts, those who may have a role include the hospital's nurses and other staff, the obstetrician, a midwife, an anesthesiologist, a neonatologist or pediatrician, and the medical group that employs them. Whether anyone is legally responsible depends on what the records show and on what a qualified expert says about the standard of care.

One question matters in almost every case: who employed each person? Some doctors are employees of a hospital or a medical group, while many are independent physicians with privileges at the hospital. Your own obstetrician may have worked for a private practice and not for the hospital. This affects who can be named in a claim and whose insurance applies, and it is one reason a family should not assume a case is only about the hospital or only about the doctor.

Queen of the Valley is classified as a private nonprofit hospital, not a county or University of California hospital, so the special six-month claim for public hospitals does not usually apply to a delivery here. Other deadlines are strict, though, and a lawyer can confirm which apply to you.

How an independent expert review of the delivery works

A good review starts with the full chart. An independent medical expert, who is not connected to the hospital, reads the prenatal records, the labor and delivery notes, and the baby's NICU records. The expert looks closely at the fetal heart monitoring strips, which show the baby's heart rate during labor, along with Apgar scores at one and five minutes, umbilical cord blood gas results, medication and oxygen records, and the timing of key decisions such as when a cesarean was discussed or performed.

The baby's own imaging and testing matter too. An MRI of the brain, a head ultrasound, newborn seizure monitoring and later developmental evaluations can help show what kind of injury occurred and roughly when. Pediatric specialists, such as neurologists and neonatologists, often help explain what the findings mean.

The result of a review is an answer to a question: does the medical evidence suggest that the standard of care was not met, and did that cause the injury? Sometimes the honest answer is no, and many families find real relief in knowing that. When the answer is yes, the family can decide whether to move forward. A review does not commit you to anything.

What to do now: step by step

First, take care of your child's health. Keep every appointment, ask for referrals to specialists and therapists, and write down diagnoses and the names of the providers who see your child. Second, request the medical records for both mother and baby from the hospital as soon as you can. Records can be large, and getting them early is one of the most useful things a family can do.

Third, keep your own paperwork: discharge papers, bills, insurance letters, photos, and a simple journal of symptoms, therapies and milestones. Avoid posting details online. Fourth, learn the deadlines. California has strict time limits that differ for the child's claim, the parents' own claims and claims against public hospitals, and a written notice to the provider is required before a lawsuit. Because these rules are complicated, speaking with a lawyer early is safer than waiting.

Finally, ask questions. Talking with a lawyer about a possible birth-injury claim costs nothing at Beverly Law, and a first conversation does not obligate you to file anything. You can also ask the hospital's care team to meet with you to explain what happened. Both can be done at once.

Support for your child and family while a case is reviewed

Your child's care should not wait for any legal question to be answered. Depending on the diagnosis, children may benefit from physical, occupational and speech therapy, specialist visits, equipment, and early intervention. Early Start is California's program for babies and toddlers under three who have developmental delays or conditions that put them at risk. It is arranged through the regional center that serves your area, and you can ask for an evaluation yourself, without a doctor's referral.

Public coverage may help with costs. Medi-Cal may cover medical care for eligible children, and California Children's Services (CCS) can help with certain serious or chronic conditions. Eligibility depends on your situation, so ask the hospital social worker or your pediatrician's office about applying.

Parent groups and your child's school district also offer help once a child nears age three. No one can promise what any program or claim will provide, but families tell us that having these supports in place early makes the road feel less lonely.

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 Queen of the Valley Hospital, West Covina

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.

Emanate Health's Health Information Management office handles medical records requests for Queen of the Valley Hospital, 1115 S. Sunset Ave., West Covina, CA 91790. The hospital's medical records page offers an authorization form (in English and Spanish) that can be mailed or faxed to the Health Information Management office, and it also describes an online request option through a records vendor. For a baby's chart, a parent or legal guardian can sign the request; for your own delivery records, you sign as the patient. Ask for both your own labor and delivery chart and your baby's newborn and NICU chart, and specifically for the fetal heart monitoring strips. The office's phone number is listed on the hospital's records page, and the hospital's main line is 626-962-4011. Details can change, so confirm the current steps on the hospital's page before you send anything.

The hospital’s medical records page →

Where a case from West Covina would be filed

A birth-injury lawsuit involving a hospital in Los Angeles County would usually be filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, in the civil unlimited division. The court's website lists the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012, as a main location for unlimited civil cases, which include most birth-injury claims. Unlimited civil cases are generally filed electronically. Where a particular case is filed can depend on the facts, so a lawyer will confirm the right court for your situation.

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 early intervention program for babies and toddlers under age 3 with developmental delays or conditions that put them at risk, and it is run through the Department of Developmental Services regional centers. The San Gabriel/Pomona Regional Center lists West Covina among the communities it serves, although boundaries in Los Angeles County follow health districts, so confirm with the center that your address is covered. To ask for an evaluation, call the regional center's intake line at 909-620-7722 or visit sgprc.org and use its Early Start intake page. You do not need a lawyer or a doctor's referral to ask, and parents can make the call themselves.

San Gabriel/Pomona 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 · 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 Emanate Health Queen of the Valley Hospital or Emanate 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.