Hundreds of Millions of Dollars Have Been Recovered for Injured Babies and Children
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Choosing to have your baby in a Bakersfield hospital comes with the expectation of competent, attentive care. But when that expectation is shattered by a preventable medical error, a family’s world is turned upside down. The joy of childbirth is replaced by a new reality of neonatal specialists, confusing diagnoses, and profound uncertainty about your child’s future.
Our dedicated birth injury team of lawyers was founded on the unwavering belief: no family in Kern County should have to bear the lifelong financial and emotional burden of a medical malpractice birth injury caused by someone else’s negligence. This conviction drives our work every day. We are here to be your advocates and allies, transforming your pain into a powerful pursuit of justice and ensuring your rights under California law are fully enforced.
Even with the many dedicated medical professionals in our community, preventable errors continue to be a serious national problem. Influential studies have confirmed that medical mistakes are a leading cause of life-altering injury in the U.S. This guide is your first step toward gaining the clarity you need—not to cause alarm, but to equip you with the facts so you can become your child’s most effective champion.
When a child is born with a serious health condition, the fundamental legal question that must be answered is one of Nature versus Negligence. “Nature” encompasses the wide spectrum of unavoidable factors like genetics or prematurity. “Negligence,” however, refers to a birth injury—harm caused directly by a medical mistake during labor and delivery. That failure often looks like a delayed C-section or a mismanaged infection that a reasonably competent medical team would have handled correctly. Our entire investigation is focused on gathering the evidence to prove that the harm was a direct result of that unacceptable failure. Our mission is to meticulously analyze the complete medical picture to determine whether your family is facing the outcome of nature or the consequences of negligence.
A deviation from the accepted standard of medical care in a Bakersfield delivery room can lead to catastrophic, lifelong harm for a newborn. Our experienced team of child injury attorneys has represented families whose lives were forever changed by preventable birth injuries, including:
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A preventable birth injury forces a family to adapt to a new and challenging reality. The future becomes a landscape of medical needs, therapeutic goals, and accessibility challenges. The purpose of a birth injury claim is to provide your family with the tools and financial resources necessary to navigate this new reality and ensure your child has every opportunity to thrive.Â
A birth injury becomes a medical malpractice case in Bakersfield when our lawyers who handle catastrophic birth injury claims can establish a transparent chain of accountability. This legal process involves proving a series of connected facts under the specific rules of California law.
Establishing the Duty (The Standard of Care):
The chain begins with the professional duty that every doctor, nurse, and hospital in Kern County owes to a patient. This duty is to provide a “standard of care,” which is a legal benchmark for what a reasonably skilled and competent medical professional would have done in the same situation.
Proving the Breach (The Mistake):
Next, we must prove a breach of that duty. This means pinpointing the specific, preventable mistake—whether it was a doctor misreading clear signs of fetal distress, a nurse failing to escalate an urgent problem, or a hospital being dangerously understaffed.
Linking the Breach to the Harm (Causation):
This is the most critical link. We must scientifically and medically prove that the specific breach of duty was the direct cause of your child’s injury. This requires building an unshakable argument, supported by testimony from world-renowned medical experts.
This entire chain of accountability is governed by two crucial California laws that every family must understand:
When your child’s future is at stake, choosing the right birth injury legal team is the most important decision you will make. To counter the hospital’s aggressive and well-funded defense in a Kern County courtroom, The Child Injury Firm must provide the correct answers to these four essential questions:
Are they fluent in both medicine and law? A birth injury case hinges on the evidence hidden within complex medical records. Our team of birth injury attorneys have decades of experience analyzing charts from local hospitals like Mercy and Adventist Health, allowing us to pinpoint the precise errors that constitute negligence. This deep medical knowledge is crucial for understanding what happened and explaining it clearly to a jury.
What caliber of medical experts will they bring to your case? The hospital will use its own experts to defend its actions. To counter this, we bring in a more powerful voice: a national network of elite, board-certified medical specialists. These are the leading neonatologists and obstetricians from top teaching hospitals whose credibility is beyond reproach, ensuring your child’s case is supported by unimpeachable, authoritative testimony.
Do they understand the local legal landscape? Knowing the specific procedures in the Kern County court system is a critical strategic advantage. Our deep insight allows us to navigate the system effectively for our clients.
Do they understand the local legal landscape?
Knowing the specific procedures in the Orange County Superior Court system is a critical strategic advantage. Our deep insight allows us to navigate the system effectively for our clients.
For the child injury lawyers at our firm, meeting these high standards isn’t just business—it’s our commitment to securing the resources your child needs for a lifetime of care.
Bakersfield and Kern County are primarily served by a few major hospitals that handle the majority of births in the area. These include:
Receiving a diagnosis for your child is overwhelming. Finding the best resources near you was a common search for many families we have helped. Here are some trusted, non-legal organizations that can provide invaluable information and support in the Bakersfield area:
Key Takeaways
Not necessarily. While some complications are rare, the “standard of care” requires medical professionals to be prepared for them. The critical question is whether they recognized the signs of the complication in a timely manner and responded appropriately. A rare event can still involve negligence if the response was substandard.
The “standard of care” is what a reasonably prudent medical professional would do in the same or similar circumstances.
We handle all birth injury cases on a contingency fee basis. This means you pay absolutely no upfront costs or attorney’s fees. We cover all the expenses of building and litigating your case. Our fee is a percentage of the financial recovery we win for you. If we don’t win, you owe us nothing.
A medical malpractice lawsuit is a legal process to hold a professional or institution accountable for a mistake and, most importantly, to secure the financial resources your child will need for a lifetime of care. It is about getting the best help your child is legally entitled to, not about punishing individuals.
Some devastating birth injuries, particularly brain injuries, do not show their full effects until a child is older and begins to miss key developmental milestones. However, the legal deadline—the statute of limitations—is ticking from the moment of the injury. Waiting until the full extent of the harm is obvious could mean you lose your right to file a claim forever. It is critical to investigate the circumstances of the birth as soon as you suspect anything went wrong.
Catastrophic child and birth injuries can shatter the lives of not just the babies and children, but also their families. Families are left to navigate a complex maze of medical challenges, financial burdens, and emotional turmoil. But, this is where Jeffrey Killino and his team of dedicated lawyers can provide the support and guidance families need most.
For over 2 decades, Jeffrey Killino and his team have secured life-changing results for babies and children facing catastrophic injuries. Our clients gain access to the best medical care, financial security, and peace of mind, knowing their futures are protected.
Jeffrey Killino and his team of child and birth injury lawyers are committed to go beyond securing multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts. We measure our success by our positive impact on our clients’ lives. We’re dedicated to supporting them throughout their journey, even after their case is resolved.
Jeffrey Killino and his team of child and birth injury lawyers are committed to more than just securing multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts. We measure our success by our positive impact on our clients’ lives, helping them access the best medical care, achieve financial security, and find peace of mind. We also actively work to prevent injuries and promote safety for everyone.
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