Kern Medical Birth Injury Lawyers

This page is for families who had a baby at Kern Medical, at 1700 Mount Vernon Avenue in Bakersfield, Kern County, and who now have questions about how the delivery went or about their child's health. Maybe your baby needed the intensive care nursery. Maybe a doctor mentioned a low oxygen level, a nerve injury, a brain bleed or a delay in development. Maybe you simply feel you were never given the full story. Those questions are common, and you are allowed to ask them.

Kern Medical is a teaching hospital operated by the Kern County Hospital Authority. According to the hospital's 2024 report to the state (HCAI), its newborn nursery cared for 1,783 babies that year, and its licensed intensive-care newborn unit has 28 beds and had 396 discharges. Thousands of Kern County families have trusted this hospital with the birth of a child, and most of those births go well. This guide does not say anything went wrong at any hospital. It explains birth injuries in plain language, so that you can decide whether to look into your own child's case.

Below you will find general medical information, warning signs to watch for, who can be involved in a birth-injury claim, how an independent expert review works, and practical steps you can take now. At the end you will find where to request your records, which court would usually hear a Kern County case, and how to ask for early-intervention services for your baby. Strict legal deadlines apply, and they are different for public hospitals, so it is wise to talk with a lawyer early. This page is general information, not legal or medical advice.

Labor and delivery at Kern Medical in Bakersfield

Kern Medical describes its Birth Center on its own website as offering private labor, delivery and recovery rooms where a spouse and family can be present, in-house obstetric specialists and anesthesia around the clock, dedicated operating rooms for cesarean births, a newly expanded postpartum unit with private rooms, lactation support, immediate skin-to-skin contact and rooming-in. The hospital also lists a high-risk pregnancy program and a Prenatal Diagnostic Center accredited by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine. To deliver there, the hospital says a patient first establishes care with an obstetrician who has delivery privileges at Kern Medical.

For babies who need extra help, the hospital's website describes a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit with 28 licensed beds. In its 2024 report to the state (HCAI), the hospital reported 396 NICU discharges and 1,783 newborns cared for in the newborn nursery. A NICU stay can be frightening, and many families leave it with more questions than answers.

Kern Medical serves Bakersfield and the wider Kern County community, and is operated by a public entity, the Kern County Hospital Authority. That matters later in this guide, because claims involving public hospitals follow special rules. Nothing here suggests a problem with any delivery at this hospital; we simply want you to know the setting in which your child was born.

Birth injuries families ask about after a difficult delivery

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is brain injury linked to too little oxygen and blood flow to a baby's brain around the time of birth. Children's hospitals describe it as a condition that can follow problems with the umbilical cord, the placenta, or the mother's blood pressure, and they note that the exact cause is often not known. Severity ranges widely. Some babies recover well, while others have seizures, developmental delays or cerebral palsy. Cooling therapy (therapeutic hypothermia) is used for some newborns with HIE and is started within the first hours of life.

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement and posture disorders caused by brain differences or injury before, during or soon after birth. The CDC and NINDS explain that CP has many possible causes, that premature birth, infections and brain injury are among the associated factors, and that it is not always possible to say what caused it. The main early sign is a delay in motor milestones such as rolling over, sitting or walking, and the diagnosis is often made months or even a few years after birth.

Other conditions families ask about include Erb's palsy and other brachial plexus injuries, in which the nerves running from the neck to the shoulder are stretched during delivery, often when a baby's shoulder is slow to deliver; the Cleveland Clinic and NINDS note that mild cases may improve on their own and that severe ones can need therapy or surgery. Newborn brain bleeds, skull fractures and broken collarbones can also occur. Infections, such as group B strep, are a leading cause of serious infection in newborns according to the CDC, which recommends testing in pregnancy and antibiotics in labor for women at higher risk. Mothers can also be hurt: heavy bleeding after birth (hemorrhage), tears and infections deserve follow-up. Having one of these conditions does not by itself mean that anyone made a mistake; many happen even with excellent care.

Warning signs in the first days, weeks and months

In the first days, parents are often told what happened during delivery only in short pieces. Signs that deserve a question to the care team include a low Apgar score, a baby who needed help breathing or was slow to cry, seizures or jerking movements, unusual sleepiness or difficulty waking, trouble feeding, a very floppy or very stiff body, a transfer to the NICU, or a cooling treatment. Ask the doctors to explain in writing, or at a follow-up visit, what they saw and what it may mean.

In the first weeks and months, watch for an arm that stays still or hangs limp, a baby who does not seem to use one side of the body, a head that lags behind when lifted, a very high-pitched cry, poor feeding or choking, or a baby who rarely makes eye contact or smiles. The CDC notes that stiffness or floppiness before six months can be a sign worth discussing, though children without CP can also show some of these signs.

As the months pass, delays in rolling over, sitting, crawling, standing, babbling or walking are important. The CDC offers a free Milestone Tracker, and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends developmental screening at set well-child visits. If something worries you, do not wait for the next visit: tell your pediatrician, ask for a referral to a specialist, and write down the dates and what you saw. Early help makes a difference, and your notes may also become useful if you later decide to look into the delivery.

Who may be responsible in a birth-injury claim

A birth-injury claim looks at the care given before, during and after a delivery. Depending on the facts, several people or groups may be involved: the hospital and its employed nurses and staff, the obstetrician, a midwife, the anesthesia team, a neonatologist or pediatrician, or the medical group that employs a physician. Whether any of them may be responsible depends on what the records show and on what a qualified expert concludes, not on the outcome alone.

One question comes up again and again: what if my doctor did not work for the hospital? Many obstetricians are independent physicians or belong to a separate medical group that has privileges to deliver patients at a hospital. Others are hospital employees or are working in a teaching program. The employment relationship affects who may be named in a claim, which insurer is involved and which deadlines apply. A lawyer can sort this out from your records.

Because Kern Medical is operated by a public entity, a claim involving the hospital itself can follow the Government Claims Act, including a short written-claim period that is much shorter than the deadline for a child's lawsuit. Independent physicians are usually treated differently. This is one more reason to speak with a lawyer early instead of waiting to see how your child develops.

How an independent expert review of the delivery works

An independent review starts with the complete chart. A lawyer collects the prenatal records, the labor and delivery record, the anesthesia record, the operative report if there was a cesarean, the newborn nursery and NICU notes, and your child's later medical records. Nothing is decided at this stage; the point is to put the whole timeline in order.

Then physicians who are not connected with the hospital, usually an obstetrician, a neonatologist and, when needed, a pediatric neurologist or radiologist, read the chart. They look at the fetal heart monitoring strips that show how the baby's heart rate responded to labor, the Apgar scores at one and five minutes, the umbilical cord blood gas results that show how much acid had built up, the timing of decisions such as a cesarean, and the MRI or head ultrasound findings that show the pattern of injury. They also look at what the NICU did in the first hours, including whether cooling was considered.

The expert review answers two questions: did the care meet accepted standards, and, if not, did that cause the child's condition? Sometimes the answer is no, and the review gives the family a clearer understanding of what happened. Sometimes the answer points to further steps. In either case, it is meant to give you information, and California requires this kind of expert support before a medical case can move forward in a serious way.

What to do now: step-by-step for Kern County families

Step 1: Take care of your child's health first. Keep every appointment with the pediatrician, neurologist and therapists, and ask each provider to note your concerns in the chart. Step 2: Write down what you remember about labor, delivery and the first days, while it is fresh: times, who spoke to you, what you were told. Keep photos, discharge papers, bracelets and appointment cards.

Step 3: Request the records for both mother and baby from the hospital, including the fetal monitoring strips, and keep copies of everything you receive. Step 4: Do not sign releases, settlements or statements from an insurer without understanding them. Step 5: Talk with a birth-injury lawyer soon, even if you are not sure you want to take any action. The conversation costs nothing, and you will learn which deadlines may apply to you and to your child.

Step 6: Ask about early-intervention services, described below, whether or not you decide to pursue a claim. Your child's therapy should not wait for any legal question. If you delivered at a public hospital, remember that a written claim may need to be presented within months, not years, so acting early protects your options.

Support for your child while a case is reviewed

Therapy and medical care are the most important things right now, and they do not depend on a legal claim. Depending on your child's needs, a care team may include physical, occupational and speech therapy, a pediatric neurologist, feeding specialists, and equipment such as braces or special seating. Medi-Cal and California Children's Services may help families pay for some of this care, and your pediatrician or a social worker can explain what your child may qualify for.

For children under three, California's Early Start program provides evaluation and services through regional centers. Anyone can make a referral, including a parent, and the evaluation can begin only with a parent's signed consent. Kern Regional Center serves Kern County. Ask for the evaluation in writing and keep a copy, so there is a date on record.

If a claim is later pursued, the cost of future care, therapy and equipment is a central part of the discussion, so keeping receipts, therapy notes and doctors' reports is helpful. We cannot promise any result, but organized records help any family understand what the next years may require.

Kern Medical is a public hospital: the six-month claim comes first

Because Kern Medical is a county / public hospital (operated by Kern County Hospital Authority), a claim for an injury at birth usually has to start with a written government claim, not a lawsuit. This is the single most important deadline on this page.

Many California babies are born at county or University of California hospitals: LAC+USC, Harbor-UCLA, Olive View-UCLA, Riverside University Health System, Arrowhead Regional, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, UC Davis and others. These are public entities, and the Government Claims Act applies. Under Government Code § 911.2, a written claim for injury or death must be presented to the public entity within six months of the injury, before any lawsuit. If the claim is rejected in writing, Government Code § 945.6 gives six months from that notice to file suit. The child’s longer deadline under Code of Civil Procedure § 340.5 does not replace this six-month claim, so families with a public-hospital birth should act right away.

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.

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 Kern Medical

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.

Kern Medical's Health Information Management (Medical Records) department handles requests. The hospital's Patient Resources page posts its Authorization for Use and/or Disclosure of Protected Health Information (form 2104, with a Spanish version) and a flyer for copies of records through its contracted copy service, Datavant. Requests must be in writing, the form lists copy charges, and the hospital's Health Information Services phone line on the form is (661) 326-2591; the hospital's mailing address is 1700 Mount Vernon Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93306. Ask for both the mother's chart and the baby's chart, including the fetal monitoring strips.

The hospital’s medical records page →

Where a case from Bakersfield would be filed

A birth-injury case from Bakersfield would usually be filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Kern. According to the court's website, unlimited civil cases (those over $35,000) are filed at the Metropolitan Division's Metro Justice Building, 1215 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301; the court's main number is (661) 610-6000. The court also lists a Metropolitan Division courthouse at 1415 Truxtun Avenue, so it is wise to confirm the location with the court before going in person.

Superior Court of California, County of Kern – Metropolitan Division (Metro Justice Building) → — 1215 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301

Help for your child now: Early Start in Kern County

Early Start is California's early-intervention program for babies and toddlers under three who have a developmental delay or a condition that may cause one. Kern Regional Center, the regional center that serves Kern County, lists Early Start intake at 661-852-3220 and krc_referral@kernrc.org on the state's Department of Developmental Services directory, and its main office is at 3200 N. Sillect Avenue, Bakersfield. Anyone can make a referral, including you; ask for an Early Start evaluation, put it in writing, and keep a copy. A referral does not depend on any legal claim.

Kern Regional Center →

Key facts

Questions parents ask

Other Kern County hospitals we cover

Bakersfield Memorial Hospital · Adventist Health Bakersfield

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 Kern Medical or Kern County Hospital Authority. 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.