St. Bernardine Medical Center Birth Injury Lawyers

This page is for parents and family members who had a baby at St. Bernardine Medical Center, 2101 North Waterman Avenue in San Bernardino, San Bernardino County, and who now have questions about how the delivery went or about their child's health. Maybe your baby needed extra help breathing, spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), or later showed signs of a delay. Maybe you were told very little at the time. Wanting clear answers is a normal and reasonable thing for a parent to want.

St. Bernardine Medical Center is part of Dignity Health. According to the hospital's 2024 report to the state (HCAI), it is operated as a non-profit corporation, cared for 968 newborns in its newborn nursery that year, has 20 licensed intensive-care newborn beds, and had 128 NICU discharges. Thousands of families in the Inland Empire trust it with the birth of a child, and most births there go home with healthy babies. This page does not say that anything went wrong at any hospital. Its purpose is to explain, in plain words, what birth injuries are, what warning signs to look for, and how families can learn more about their options.

Beverly Law is a California law firm that helps families understand whether a birth injury may have been preventable. Talking to us does not mean you are blaming anyone, and it does not commit you to anything. Below you will find general medical information, how an independent review of a delivery works, how to ask the hospital for your records, where a case would be filed in San Bernardino County, and where to find early help for your child. Legal deadlines are strict, and the verified legal sections that follow this text explain them.

Labor and delivery at St. Bernardine Medical Center in San Bernardino

According to the hospital's own website, the Family Birth Center at St. Bernardine Medical Center offers 24/7 labor and delivery support and postpartum care, and babies who need specialized care are cared for in a Level III NICU. The hospital lists its main phone line as 909-883-8711 and a separate NICU line on its location page. Level III is a hospital designation for units able to care for babies who are born early or are seriously ill.

The state's 2024 hospital utilization report (HCAI) adds numbers to that picture. In 2024 the hospital cared for 968 newborns in its newborn nursery, reported 20 licensed intensive-care newborn beds, and recorded 128 NICU discharges. The report lists the hospital's type of control as a non-profit corporation, with Dignity Health as the parent organization. We use those figures only to describe the size of the program, not to judge it.

St. Bernardine serves San Bernardino and the surrounding Inland Empire, a region of many Spanish-speaking and bilingual families. If you delivered here, you may have been cared for by several teams over a few days: obstetricians or midwives, labor and delivery nurses, anesthesia providers, a pediatrician or neonatal team, and later NICU staff. Knowing who was involved matters later, because the records show who made which decisions and when.

Birth injuries families ask about after a difficult delivery

A birth injury is harm to a baby (or sometimes to the mother) that happens before, during or shortly after delivery. Many of these conditions can occur even when everyone does their best, and many have no single cause. Medical sources describe several that families ask about most often, and what follows is general information that is not about any one hospital.

Oxygen deprivation and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) mean that a baby's brain did not get enough oxygen or blood flow around the time of birth. HIE can cause seizures, trouble feeding, and later developmental problems. Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders that affect movement, balance and posture; the CDC explains that CP is caused by abnormal development of, or damage to, the developing brain, that most cases are present at or before birth, that the exact cause is often unknown, and that a lack of oxygen during birth accounts for only a small share of cases. CP does not get worse over time, and early therapy can improve quality of life.

Erb's palsy and other brachial plexus injuries involve the bundle of nerves that controls the shoulder, arm and hand. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) explains that many of these injuries happen when a baby's shoulders become stuck during delivery and the nerves stretch or tear; some babies improve on their own by three to four months of age, and most gain some function with physical and occupational therapy. Cleveland Clinic describes Erb's palsy as the most common type of brachial plexus birth palsy and notes that treatment depends on how severe the injury is.

Families also ask about bleeding in a newborn's brain, a broken collarbone or skull fracture, infections such as group B strep (GBS) that can pass to the baby around delivery, and injuries to the mother such as heavy bleeding (postpartum hemorrhage). Each of these can have natural causes, and each can sometimes be affected by how quickly a problem is noticed and treated. An independent medical review is the way to tell the difference in a specific case.

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

In the first days, parents are often told what happened. Signs that may be worth asking about include a low Apgar score, a baby who needed resuscitation or breathing support, seizures, a very limp or very stiff body, trouble feeding or a weak cry, a transfer to the NICU, or one arm that does not move like the other. Ask what the staff observed and what tests were done, and write down the answers.

In the first weeks and months, the CDC lists early signs of cerebral palsy in babies under six months: the head lags when the baby is lifted, the body feels stiff or floppy, the back and neck arch as if pushing away, and the legs stiffen or cross when held. After six months, signs can include not rolling over in either direction, hands that do not come together, or reaching with one hand while the other stays fisted. After about ten months, crawling that is lopsided or scooting instead of crawling on all fours can be a sign. The main clue is a delay in motor milestones such as rolling, sitting, standing and walking.

Other things to bring up with your pediatrician are repeated seizures, difficulty swallowing, poor eye contact, missed hearing or vision checks, and a child who seems to lose skills. A delay does not prove a birth injury, and many children catch up. But you do not have to wait and see. You can ask for a developmental evaluation at any time, and getting early help does not affect your right to learn more about what caused the problem.

Who may be responsible in a birth injury claim

A birth involves many people, and each may have a different employer. In a birth injury claim, those who may be responsible can include the delivering obstetrician or midwife, labor and delivery nurses who watch the baby's heart rate and the mother's condition, anesthesia providers, neonatal or pediatric physicians, and the hospital itself. Whether any of them is responsible depends entirely on what the records and an expert show.

One of the first questions is who employed each person. Some doctors are employees of a hospital, some belong to an independent medical group, and some are in private practice and only have privileges to deliver at the hospital. Nurses and other staff are often hospital employees, but not always. This affects which party or parties a claim is made against, and a family usually cannot tell from the outside. That is why the records come first.

A claim also does not have to be about one dramatic moment. It may concern how a high-risk pregnancy was followed, whether warning signs in the fetal heart tracing were noticed and acted on, how long decisions took, or how the baby was handled after delivery. Many such claims turn on timing. We use the word 'may' deliberately: no one can say who, if anyone, is responsible until the chart has been reviewed by qualified experts.

How an independent expert review of the delivery works

An independent review means that doctors with no connection to the hospital read the chart and give an honest opinion about whether the care met accepted medical standards and whether any departure caused the child's injury. In California, serious birth-injury cases are almost always built on this kind of expert opinion. If the experts do not support a claim, that is also a useful answer for the family.

The reviewers look at the records for the whole pregnancy and delivery. Key items include the fetal heart monitoring strips, which show the baby's heart rate and the mother's contractions over hours; the Apgar scores at one and five minutes; umbilical cord blood gas results, which measure acidity and give a clue about oxygen levels at birth; the labor and delivery nursing notes and physician orders; anesthesia and operative notes; and the NICU notes. Later brain imaging such as an MRI can help show the type and timing of an injury.

The review usually takes some weeks, mostly because the records must be collected in full. A strong review needs the complete chart, including the monitoring strips, which are sometimes kept separately from the main file. Families are not asked to pay for the first conversation, and nobody should promise you an outcome before the experts have looked at the records.

What you can do now: step by step

Step one is to write down what you remember while it is fresh: dates, who you spoke to, what you were told, and any medications. Keep every paper you received, including discharge summaries, bills, and notes from your child's doctors. Step two is to ask for the records. Both you and your baby have separate charts, so request both, and ask specifically for the fetal monitoring strips and the NICU records.

Step three is to keep your child's care going. Follow up with your pediatrician, ask about specialists such as a pediatric neurologist, and ask for a developmental evaluation if you see delays. Step four is to contact a lawyer sooner rather than later. California's deadlines are strict, there is a required written notice to the provider before a medical malpractice case is filed, and some parents' claims have shorter time limits than the child's. The legal paragraphs added to this page explain these rules.

Step five is to avoid signing releases or giving recorded statements to an insurance company before you have talked to someone who is on your side. You do not need to confront the hospital or anyone on the care team. Asking for your records is your right and is a routine request.

Support for your child while a case is reviewed

A legal review should never delay your child's care. Many children benefit from physical, occupational and speech therapy, and some need equipment, specialist visits or feeding support. Ask your pediatrician for referrals as soon as you have concerns.

For babies and toddlers under three, California's Early Start program provides evaluation and services for infants with delays or a risk of delay. In San Bernardino County, that program is arranged through Inland Regional Center. Families who qualify may also look into Medi-Cal and California Children's Services (CCS), which can help with the cost of care for some medical conditions. Eligibility rules change, so ask each program directly.

We cannot promise any result from any case. What we can do is listen, explain your options and help you find the facts. Many families find that simply understanding what happened helps them plan for their child's future.

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 St. Bernardine 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 request records from St. Bernardine Medical Center, contact the hospital's Health Information Management (medical records) department. According to the hospital's records page, you complete a Patient Access Request Form (available in English and Spanish) and submit it by mail, in person or by fax. The department's address is 2101 N. Waterman Ave., San Bernardino, CA 92404, its phone is 909-881-4358 and its fax is 909-881-4547. Because a mother and a baby have separate charts, ask for both, and ask specifically for the fetal heart monitoring strips and the NICU records. Keep a copy of your request and note the date you sent it.

The hospital’s medical records page →

Where a case from San Bernardino would be filed

A birth-injury case in San Bernardino County is usually filed in the Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino. According to the court's website, the Civil Division of the San Bernardino District is located in the San Bernardino Justice Center at 247 West Third Street, San Bernardino, CA 92415. The right courthouse for a particular case depends on where the events happened and where the defendants are, and your lawyer will confirm it before anything is filed.

Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino – San Bernardino Justice Center, Civil Division → — 247 West Third Street, San Bernardino, CA 92415

Help for your child now: Early Start in San Bernardino County

Early Start is California's program for babies and toddlers under age 3 who have a developmental delay or are at risk for one. In San Bernardino County it is arranged through Inland Regional Center, the regional center that serves San Bernardino and Riverside counties and is listed by the state Department of Developmental Services. A parent or guardian can ask for an evaluation by calling the center's Early Start intake line (listed by the state for San Bernardino County as 909-890-4711), by using the referral options on the center's website, or by asking your pediatrician to refer you. Eligibility does not depend on family income or immigration status, and you do not need a lawsuit or a diagnosis to ask.

Inland Regional Center →

Key facts

Questions parents ask

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 · Providence St. Mary Medical Center · San Bernardino 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 St. Bernardine Medical Center or Dignity Health (CommonSpirit 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.