Hoag Hospital Newport Beach (Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian) Birth Injury Lawyers

This page is for families who had a baby at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, in Orange County, California, and who are now worried about how the delivery went. Maybe your child was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a brain injury, a nerve injury in the shoulder and arm, or a developmental delay. Maybe your baby spent time in the intensive care nursery and nobody has fully explained why. Maybe you are simply asking questions. Those are reasonable questions, and you are allowed to ask them.

Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, known as Hoag Hospital Newport Beach, is a private nonprofit hospital at 1 Hoag Drive. According to the hospital's 2024 report to the state (HCAI), it cared for 5,900 newborns in its newborn nursery that year, and its intensive-care newborn unit (NICU) is licensed for 21 beds and had 544 NICU discharges. Most births there go well. This page does not say that anyone at the hospital did anything wrong. Its goal is to explain, in plain words, what birth injuries are, what records exist, how an independent review works and what options a family has.

Beverly Law offers a free consultation. Nothing here is legal advice, and reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. A birth-injury case has strict deadlines, so it helps to learn your options early, even if you decide to do nothing.

Labor and Delivery at Hoag Hospital Newport Beach

Hoag's own website confirms that it offers labor and delivery in Newport Beach. The program is described as the Sue & Bill Gross Women's Pavilion at Hoag Hospital Newport Beach. According to Hoag, it includes 18 private labor, delivery and recovery suites on the fifth floor, three of which are cesarean rooms, plus a dedicated obstetric emergency department and obstetric triage, an antepartum unit, fetal diagnostic testing, a postpartum unit and a transitional nursery. The hospital also says it provides around-the-clock obstetric hospitalists, anesthesia coverage and maternal-fetal medicine clinics.

For babies who need extra care, Hoag describes a Level III NICU staffed by neonatologists, specialized NICU nurses, respiratory therapists and pharmacists. According to the hospital's 2024 report to the state (HCAI), the licensed NICU had 21 intensive-care newborn beds and 544 NICU discharges, and the newborn nursery cared for 5,900 babies. Those numbers show a large program that serves many families from Newport Beach and the surrounding communities of Orange County.

Hoag is a private nonprofit hospital, not a county or University of California hospital. That matters later, because different rules apply to public hospitals. Whatever the size or reputation of a hospital, a family that has questions about a delivery is entitled to understand what happened, and the first step is usually to get the records.

Birth Injuries Families Ask About After a Difficult Delivery

Birth injury is a broad term. It covers harm that happens before, during or shortly after delivery, and many of these conditions have causes that nobody could have prevented. The medical facts below are general and are not about any one hospital or any one birth.

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) happens when a newborn's brain does not get enough oxygen or blood around the time of birth. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) lists causes such as umbilical cord compression, placental tearing and uterine rupture, and explains that HIE can lead to lifelong disabilities. The NIH-funded research it describes found that cooling a newborn's body to about 92 degrees Fahrenheit for 72 hours, started within the first six hours of life, reduced death and disability. Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders of movement, balance and posture. The CDC says most cases are congenital, meaning the brain was damaged or developed differently before or during birth, that the exact cause is often unknown, and that lack of oxygen at birth accounts for only a small share of cases.

Erb's palsy, a kind of brachial plexus injury, is weakness of the shoulder and arm caused by stretched or torn nerves. Cleveland Clinic reports it occurs in about 0.9 to 2.6 of every 1,000 live births and is more likely in larger babies who get stuck during delivery. Some babies recover in a few months, while others need therapy or surgery. Other conditions families ask about include bleeding in the newborn brain, a fractured collarbone or skull, infections such as group B strep that can spread to a newborn, and maternal complications such as heavy bleeding after delivery. Each has many possible causes, and only a careful review of the records can tell whether a particular case involved a preventable problem.

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

In the first days, doctors and nurses watch for signs that a baby is struggling: low Apgar scores, weak or absent crying, trouble breathing, a limp or very stiff body, seizures, trouble feeding, a low blood sugar or temperature, or a need for NICU care. A baby who was cooled for suspected HIE, or who had a seizure, will usually be followed closely. If you were told your baby needed special treatment and you never received a clear explanation, write down what you remember and ask for it in writing.

In the first weeks, parents may notice that one arm does not move like the other, that the hand rests in a curled position, that the baby does not seem to look at faces or startle at noise, or that feeding stays difficult. For Erb's palsy, Cleveland Clinic describes limpness in the shoulder, arm and elbow and a hand held with the palm turned back and the fingers curled, sometimes called the waiter's tip position.

In the months that follow, the main warning sign of cerebral palsy is delayed movement milestones. The CDC lists a head that lags when the baby is lifted, a body that feels stiff or floppy, not rolling over by about six months, not bringing the hands together, reaching with only one hand, or crawling unevenly. Some children with these signs do not have cerebral palsy, so a developmental evaluation matters. Many diagnoses are not made until a child is one or two years old, which is one reason families often have questions long after they leave the hospital.

Who May Be Responsible in a Birth Injury Claim

Many people take part in a delivery, so a birth-injury claim may involve more than one party. Depending on the facts, those who may be responsible include the hospital and its nurses and staff, the obstetrician, a midwife, an anesthesiologist, a neonatologist or pediatrician, and the medical group that employs a physician. Whether a person is responsible depends on what the records show, not on the outcome alone.

A common question is what happens when the doctor did not work for the hospital. Many obstetricians and other specialists are independent physicians or members of a private medical group who have privileges at a hospital but are not hospital employees. In that case a claim against the physician may be separate from a claim against the hospital, and a hospital may or may not be responsible for that physician's choices. Nurses and other hospital staff are usually hospital employees. An independent review sorts out who was responsible for which decisions, and that is why the records matter so much.

The word may is important here. A bad outcome does not by itself mean that anyone was careless. Babies can be hurt despite excellent care. A claim is only appropriate when qualified medical experts conclude that care fell below accepted standards and that this caused the injury.

How an Independent Expert Review of a Delivery Works

An independent review begins with the complete records for both mother and baby: prenatal records, the labor and delivery chart, the physician and nursing notes, the fetal heart monitoring strips, the anesthesia record, the newborn nursery and NICU notes and any imaging. Fetal heart monitoring strips show the baby's heart rate and the mother's contractions over time, and specialists read them to see how the baby was tolerating labor and how the care team responded.

Reviewers also look at the baby's Apgar scores, which are quick checks of a newborn's condition at one and five minutes of life, and at umbilical cord blood gases, which measure acid levels in the blood from the cord. Brain MRI, taken in the first days or weeks, can help doctors understand the pattern and timing of an injury. The NICHD describes MRI patterns in babies with HIE as biomarkers that relate to later development.

Physicians in the right specialty, often an obstetrician, a neonatologist and a pediatric neurologist, review these materials and give an opinion about the standard of care and about what caused the injury. In California, a case also needs a medical expert declaration before it can proceed. A review can end with the conclusion that the care was appropriate, and that is a useful answer for a family too. A consultation with Beverly Law is free, and the firm only gets paid if there is a recovery.

What to Do Now After a Birth Injury: Step by Step

First, take care of your child. Keep every medical appointment and follow the treatment plan. Nothing about a legal review should delay therapy or specialist visits, and early care often makes a real difference.

Second, write down what you remember while it is fresh: dates, times, what you were told in labor, who was in the room, what happened to your baby afterward and the names of any providers you were told about. Keep discharge papers, bills, photographs and messages from the hospital or your doctor. Do not post details on social media.

Third, request the records for yourself and your baby, as explained below. Fourth, ask for a free consultation so that someone can explain the deadlines that apply to your family. California treats a child's birth-injury case differently from an adult's case, and parents' own claims can have shorter deadlines, so do not wait. Fifth, if the review supports a claim, a written notice of intent to sue must reach the provider before a lawsuit can be filed, and the legal team takes care of that step. You do not need to decide anything on the first call.

Support for Your Child While a Case Is Reviewed

Support for your child does not depend on a legal case. Early Start is California's program for babies and toddlers under three who have a developmental delay or a condition likely to cause one. In Orange County it is arranged through the Regional Center of Orange County. Physical, occupational and speech therapy, feeding support and help for the family can start before a diagnosis is final.

Many children with serious conditions also qualify for California Children's Services (CCS) and for Medi-Cal, which can help pay for specialists, therapies and equipment. Hoag also says its Development Assessment Center follows babies who spent time in the NICU. Ask your pediatrician or the hospital social worker which programs fit your child.

A legal claim, if one is appropriate, may later help a family pay for the lifetime costs of care, such as therapy, equipment and home changes. No one can promise that a claim will succeed. What a family can do today is protect the child's care, keep good records and learn the options.

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 Hoag Hospital Newport Beach

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.

Hoag handles medical records requests through its Medical Records / Release of Information office at One Hoag Drive in Newport Beach. According to the hospital's records page, requests can be made with the online patient request form, with Hoag's downloadable authorization form in English or Spanish, or in writing if you cannot use the form, and a parent of a child under 18 counts as an authorized representative but must show proof of representation. The office lists the email HoagMedicalRecords@hoag.org, phone 949-764-8326 and fax 949-764-8237, open Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM, and says requests of 25 pages or fewer are free. Ask for the complete labor and delivery chart, the fetal heart monitoring strips, the newborn nursery and NICU records and any imaging, for both mother and baby. Confirm these details on the hospital's page before sending anything.

The hospital’s medical records page →

Where a case from Newport Beach would be filed

A birth-injury lawsuit from Newport Beach would usually be filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Orange. According to the court's own website and its court designation list, unlimited civil cases are heard at the Central Justice Center, 700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana, CA 92701. The exact courthouse can depend on the type of case and the defendants, so confirm it before filing.

Superior Court of California, County of Orange – Central Justice Center → — 700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana, CA 92701

Help for your child now: Early Start in Orange County

Early Start is California's early intervention program for babies and toddlers from birth to 36 months who have a developmental delay or a condition likely to cause one. Families in Newport Beach and the rest of Orange County are served by the Regional Center of Orange County (RCOC), one of the regional centers of the California Department of Developmental Services. A parent can call RCOC's Intake and Assessment Unit at 714-796-5354 to ask for an evaluation, and a doctor can also send a referral form. You do not need a final diagnosis to ask, and a referral does not depend on any legal case.

Regional Center of Orange County (RCOC) →

Key facts

Questions parents ask

Other Orange County hospitals we cover

Orange County 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 Hoag Hospital Newport Beach (Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian) or Hoag (Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, a private 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.