Hundreds of Millions of Dollars Have Been Recovered for Injured Babies and Children
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The hours and days following a difficult birth in a Riverside hospital can be a confusing blur of medical jargon and hushed conversations outside your door. The joyful celebration you had anticipated is replaced by a profound and unsettling sense that something has gone terribly wrong. As you try to piece together the events of the delivery, an arduous journey begins—one that shifts your focus from planning a future to desperately seeking to understand the past.
That search for understanding is where our work at The Child Injury Firm begins. For years, we have served as dedicated allies for families across Riverside County, helping them transform their heartbreaking questions into a focused pursuit of the truth. We believe that you are entitled to more than just sympathy; you are entitled to the best answers. Our mission is to provide you with the legal and medical expertise necessary to uncover those answers and to assert your powerful rights under California law.
This pursuit of truth is essential because, despite the presence of dedicated professionals in the Inland Empire, preventable medical harm is a documented, nationwide crisis. Data from the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and-Quality (AHRQ) reveals millions of hospital stays involve “adverse events” each year. This guide is intended to be the first step in your investigation. It is designed to provide you with a clear, factual foundation, empowering you to ask the best questions and to be the strongest possible advocate for your child.Â
When a child is born with a serious medical condition, the first step in our legal analysis is to distinguish between an outcome that was medically unavoidable and one that was medically unacceptable. A birth defect is typically an unavoidable tragedy of biology. A preventable birth injury, however, is a medically unacceptable outcome because it occurs when a doctor or hospital fails to follow established safety protocols. These are the rules put in place specifically to prevent this kind of harm, and ignoring them is a profound failure. A competent medical team is expected to prevent these errors, and when they don’t, it constitutes negligence. Our entire investigation is focused on making this critical distinction for your family.
In an Inland Empire delivery room, a single poor decision or a moment of inattention can set off a tragic chain of events, leading to a lifetime of challenges for a child. Most birth injuries occur during the delivery process and are often preventable. When a medical professional’s actions fall below the accepted standard of care, the harm can be devastating. Our experienced team of birth injury lawyers has seen how these preventable errors manifest in a number of ways, including:
When a baby suffers a birth injury due to a doctor’s negligence during the delivery process, the consequences can be lifelong. A child’s birth injury can have a profound impact on the child’s future, potentially resulting in disabilities, cognitive impairments, and the need for long-term care and support.
These medical outcomes are not just diagnoses; they represent a deviation from a child’s expected life path. The challenges they create are immense, but their potential is still limitless. The goal of birth injury claims is to provide a financial lifeline, securing the best resources for therapies, treatments, and technologies that will empower your child to reach their maximum possible potential and live the fullest life possible. Â
A successful birth injury claim in California stands on four essential pillars. If any one of them is missing, the entire case can collapse. Furthermore, the entire structure must be built upon a solid foundation of timely action.
Once the foundation is secure, we must build the four pillars:
Pillar 1: Duty. We must first establish that the medical professional in Stockton owed your child a professional duty of care.
Pillar 2: Breach. We then prove that the provider breached this duty by acting—or failing to act—in a way that a reasonably competent peer would not have. This is the act of negligence.
Pillar 3: Causation. We must construct an unbreakable link showing this specific breach of duty was the direct cause of your child’s injuries, often using powerful expert testimony.
Pillar 4: Damages. This pillar represents the harm your child has suffered. The extent of compensation for these damages is now more fairly governed by the 2023 reforms to California’s MICRA law, which significantly increased the cap on awards for pain and suffering. Cognitive impairments and other long-term effects from a child’s birth injury can have a profound impact on your child’s future.Â
Seeking legal options and a free consultation is crucial to discuss your child’s birth injury and potential birth injury claims. Our law firm offers free consultations to help families understand their options and determine the best course of action for pursuing justice and compensation. Most birth injury claims are handled on a contingency fee basis, meaning clients pay no fees unless compensation is recovered.
Birth injuries can arise from a range of factors during pregnancy, labor, and delivery, often leaving families searching for answers and support. In many cases, these injuries are preventable and stem from lapses in the standard of care provided by medical professionals. Negligent health providers are responsible for many birth injuries that occur in the United States every year. Understanding the root causes is the first step toward protecting your child’s future and holding the responsible parties accountable. Preventing birth injuries is crucial for safeguarding your child’s future, as early intervention and proper care can make a significant difference in their long-term quality of life.
**Medical Negligence:**Â One of the leading causes of birth injuries is medical negligence. This occurs when doctors, nurses, or other healthcare professionals fail to provide the level of care expected during pregnancy or childbirth. Examples include not monitoring for signs of fetal distress, delaying or failing to perform a necessary C-section, or administering the wrong medication. Such oversights can have life-altering consequences, including brain injuries, cerebral palsy, or other serious complications.
**Fetal Distress:** Fetal distress happens when a baby is not getting enough oxygen during the birthing process. If medical staff do not recognize and respond to this emergency in a timely manner, the newborn baby may suffer from neurological disorders, permanent disability, or even wrongful death. Quick intervention is critical to prevent long-term damage to the child’s brain and overall health.
**Excessive Force During Delivery:** Sometimes, the use of too much pressure or force—whether with hands, forceps, or vacuum extractors—can cause severe injuries. Brachial plexus injury, Erb’s palsy, and shoulder dystocia are common birth injuries linked to excessive force. These injuries can affect muscle tone, movement and may require extensive therapy and follow-up care.
**Complications During Delivery:**Â Certain complications, such as placental abruption, umbilical cord prolapse, or shoulder dystocia, can increase the risk of birth injuries if not managed properly. Medical staff must be prepared to act quickly, sometimes performing an emergency C-section, to ensure the safety of both mother and child.
**Medication Errors:**  Administering the wrong medication or incorrect dosages during pregnancy or delivery can also result in serious birth injuries. Medication errors may lead to complications that impact the baby’s brain, development, or overall well-being.
If your child suffered a birth injury in Riverside, San Bernardino, or anywhere in the Inland Empire, it’s crucial to act quickly. Consulting our birth injury attorneys with a proven track record can make all the difference. Our experienced birth injury lawyers will investigate the circumstances, review medical records, and work with medical experts to determine if medical negligence played a role.
The financial strain of ongoing medical expenses, therapy, and future medical care can be overwhelming for families. Our dedicated team of lawyers can help you recover compensation for your child’s future medical expenses, ensuring they receive the care and support they need. Most birth injury claims are handled on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay nothing unless we secure compensation for your child’s injuries. Many law offices, including ours, operate on this basis to make legal help accessible.
In Southern California, families have access to skilled birth injury attorneys who understand the complexities of these cases. Choose a lawyer for birth injury cases who demonstrates compassion and effective communication skills. By seeking legal guidance promptly, you can protect your child’s rights and secure the resources necessary for their recovery and future well-being.
The Inland Empire is a vast and growing region, served by several major hospitals that handle a high volume of births. Some of the primary centers for childbirth in and around Riverside 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 Riverside 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.
A 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 Riverside County courtroom, our team has:
This is more than just a case for our team of birth injury lawyers. 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
When a child suffers a birth injury due to medical negligence, the impact extends far beyond the delivery room. For many families in Riverside and the Inland Empire, the journey involves not only emotional challenges but also the daunting reality of ongoing medical expenses and the need for specialized care. The financial strain of providing for a child’s future medical care can be overwhelming, especially when facing conditions that require lifelong support.
Common birth injuries such as cerebral palsy, brachial plexus injury, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, and brain injuries often demand a comprehensive treatment plan. This may include physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, medication, adaptive equipment, and, in some cases, surgical interventions. Children with neurological disorders or cognitive impairments may also need special education services and continuous follow-up care to help them reach their full potential.
A birth injury attorney with a proven track record understands the complexities of these cases and the importance of securing compensation that covers not just immediate medical expenses, but also the cost of future medical care. By working closely with medical experts, our birth injury lawyers can accurately assess the extent of your child’s injuries and project the long-term needs associated with conditions like cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, shoulder dystocia, and other common birth injuries. This ensures that your birth injury claim reflects the true scope of your child’s needs, from therapy and medication to assistive technology and home modifications.
It’s crucial for families to act quickly, as California’s statute of limitations for birth injury claims is strict. Delaying action can jeopardize your ability to recover compensation for your child’s future medical expenses. Our birth injury lawyers can guide you through the legal process, negotiate with insurance companies, and advocate for the resources your child will need for years to come.
If your child’s birth injury was caused by medical negligence—such as failure to respond to fetal distress, medication errors, or excessive force during delivery—you have legal options. A free consultation with a Riverside birth injury attorney can help you understand your rights and the steps needed to protect your child’s future. The right law firm will fight to recover compensation for all necessary future medical care, easing the financial burden and allowing your family to focus on your child’s well-being and recovery.
Don’t let the financial strain of future medical care stand in the way of your child’s progress. Contact a Riverside birth injury lawyer with a proven track record to discuss your case, explore your legal options, and secure the support your child deserves.
Key Takeaways
This is a common misconception. In fact, the most credible and effective medical experts are often nationally recognized leaders in their fields from major academic institutions outside of the local area. Using an independent expert from another region provides objectivity and eliminates any potential for local bias or professional reluctance to testify against a neighboring hospital. Our firm maintains a national network of these elite specialists and handles all the logistics of involving them in your case.
You, the client, always make the final decision, subject to court approval. Our role as your attorneys is to provide you with all the information and our experienced, professional recommendations. We will advise you on the strength of your case, the fairness of the offer compared to your child’s calculated lifelong needs, and the potential risks and rewards of going to trial. We empower you with the knowledge to make the best possible choice for your family’s future, but the ultimate decision always rests with you.
This is a sophisticated question that gets to the heart of local trial strategy. We are acutely aware that jurors are members of the community and may have pre-existing positive feelings toward a large local hospital. Our approach is not to attack the institution as a whole, but to tell a clear, fact-based story of a specific, preventable mistake made by a few individuals on a single day that had devastating consequences. Our experience with birth injury cases in courtrooms enables us to frame the case in a way that resonates with the local community’s values.
Yes, this is a critical and often overlooked aspect of a family’s damages. While the lawsuit’s primary focus is the injured child’s needs, a comprehensive case is designed to support the entire family unit. A Life Care Plan can include provisions for services like respite care, which allows parents to dedicate focused, quality time to their other children. Furthermore, the “non-economic damages” awarded to parents can reflect the disruption to the entire family dynamic and the loss of a normal parent-child relationship with all of their children.
An electronic health record (EHR) audit trail is a digital footprint that tracks every single action taken within a patient’s electronic chart: every view, every entry, and every deletion or alteration, along with who did it and when. It is the “truth serum” of a medical malpractice case. By analyzing this data, we can see if a crucial note was added or changed long after the event, potentially indicating an attempt to cover up a mistake. It is a powerful tool for uncovering the true story of what happened in the delivery room.
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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