Hundreds of Millions of Dollars Have Been Recovered for Injured Babies and Children
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Choosing a Stockton hospital for your child’s birth comes with the expectation of competent and attentive care. When a preventable medical mistake shatters that trust, 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 firm was founded on the unwavering belief that no family in San Joaquin County and nationwide 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 remain a serious national problem. Influential studies have confirmed that medical mistakes are a leading cause of life-altering injury in the U.S. In California, birth injuries account for a significant percentage of all infant deaths, with one report suggesting they contribute to about 20% of the approximately 20,000 infant deaths in the U.S. annually. Many of these tragedies are preventable with competent and timely medical care. 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 best champion.Â
To understand the difference in responsibility, it can be helpful to think of a child’s development like a garden. A birth defect is like a problem with the seed itself, before it was ever planted; an inherent issue with the genetic makeup that the gardener—the medical team—cannot change. A birth injury, however, is damage done to the sprout by a careless gardener during the delicate process of planting. The seed may have been perfectly healthy, but the gardener’s inattention or improper technique caused preventable harm. Our investigation determines whether the harm was in the seed or caused by the actions of the gardener, which is the key to proving negligence.
Many of the most heartbreaking birth injuries are not unavoidable accidents, but preventable tragedies that occur when medical professionals in a Stockton hospital fail to provide the required standard of care. Our firm has seen the devastating consequences of these failures and has successfully handled cases involving a wide range of negligent acts, including:
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.
Building a successful birth injury medical malpractice case in Stockton is like following a precise legal recipe. For a just outcome, every ingredient must be present and proven, and the entire process must adhere to the court’s strict rules.
Finally, even with the perfect ingredients, the entire recipe is governed by two of California’s most important legal rules:Â
The Kitchen Timer: The Statute of Limitations. The most critical rule is the strict filing deadline. The law sets a non-negotiable timer on your right to bring a case. If this timer runs out (often before a child’s eighth birthday), the opportunity is lost forever, regardless of the evidence.
The Rules for Fair Compensation: MICRA Reform. The second rule governs the final outcome. Thanks to a landmark 2023 law (Assembly Bill 35), the rules for compensating families for their immense pain and suffering have been dramatically improved, significantly raising an old, unjust cap on damages. Understanding these new rules is crucial to ensuring the final result is fair.
Stockton and San Joaquin County are served by several key hospitals that provide essential maternity care to the community. The major centers for childbirth in the area include:
Receiving a diagnosis for your child is overwhelming. Finding the best resources near me 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 Stockton area:
Connecting with these groups can provide comfort, practical assistance, and a sense of community, reminding you that you are not on this journey alone.Â
A medical malpractice birth injury case is not like a car accident claim. It is one of the most complex areas of law. The hospital and its insurance company will have a team of powerful lawyers whose only job is to deny responsibility and minimize what they have to pay.
To level the playing field in a courtroom, our team of medical malpractice birth injury lawyers has:
This is more than just a case for us. It’s a cause. It’s about securing the resources your child will need for a lifetime of the best care and holding negligent parties accountable.Â
Key Takeaways
A Life Care Plan is the single most important document for defining your child’s future needs. It is a comprehensive blueprint, created by a certified medical and vocational expert, that projects the full scope of your child’s medical and personal requirements for their entire life. It quantifies the costs of everything from future surgeries, medications, and therapies to in-home nursing care, specialized wheelchairs, adaptive vehicle and housing modifications, and educational support. This document transforms your child’s needs from an abstract idea into a concrete, defensible financial figure for the court.
A deposition is a standard and crucial part of any birth injury case. It is a formal interview where the hospital’s attorneys will ask you questions about the pregnancy, birth, and your child’s condition under oath. Yes, you will almost certainly have to give a deposition, but you will not go in unprepared or alone. Our attorneys will spend hours with you beforehand, practicing questions and ensuring you are comfortable and confident. We will be right beside you during the entire process to protect you from improper questions and guide you through it.
This is a very common and understandable question. It’s important to know that a civil lawsuit and a medical board action are two separate processes. Our lawsuit’s primary and sole purpose is to secure the financial compensation your family needs for your child’s lifetime of care. Disciplinary action against a doctor’s license is handled exclusively by the Medical Board of California. While a malpractice verdict can trigger a board investigation, the lawsuit itself is focused on providing for your child, not on professionally punishing the doctor.
You should not speak with the hospital’s risk management team, investigators, or lawyers without your own legal counsel present. The hospital’s goal in these meetings is to protect itself from liability. They are looking for information that could weaken your potential claim. Anything you say can be taken out of context and used against your family later. Their job is to minimize the hospital’s financial risk; our job is to maximize your child’s recovery and protect your rights.
No, absolutely not. While the “standard of care” is legally based on what a reasonably competent professional in the same circumstances would do, it does not create an excuse for fundamental negligence. Core patient safety rules—such as properly monitoring a baby’s heart rate, responding to clear signs of fetal distress, and managing well-known complications—are universally accepted medical principles. A doctor in Stockton is expected to be just as competent in these critical, life-saving areas as a doctor anywhere else in California.Â
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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