MICRA
Long-overdue change to the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975 will help Californians harmed by medical negligence

For nearly 50 years, Californians who were harmed instead of healed by our health care system faced a formidable obstacle in seeking accountability in a court of law for medical negligence. It’s called MICRA, short for the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975. Since 1975, MICRA placed an artificial cap of $250,000 on pain and suffering damages in cases involving medical malpractice. The MICRA limit remained unchanged for decades, even as inflation has eaten away at the value of the dollar.

Meanwhile, MICRA has yanked crucial economic decisions out of the hands of citizen juries. It has done little to help doctors and nothing to improve patient care. Its main beneficiaries have been insurance companies.

Under MICRA, the life of a child who died due to preventable medical negligence was valued at no more than $250,000. The loss of the ability to walk or to see…compensation for severe disfigurement or a lifetime of unbearable chronic pain…the loss of the ability to have a child…all were capped at $250,000.

Finally, in 2022, CAOC and the California Medical Association negotiated a bill to adjust the MICRA caps every year going forward. This legislative change is helping victims of medical negligence attain justice, thanks to Assembly Bill 35 (Reyes/Umberg).

AB 35, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in May 2022, will increase the cap annually. Under the bill:

1. For a non-death case, the cap increased from $250,000 to $350,000 on January 1, 2023, and increases $40,000 every year through 2033 until it reaches $750,000.
2. For a wrongful death case, the cap increased from $250,000 to $500,000 on January 1, 2023, and increases $50,000 every year through 2033 until it reaches $1,000,000.
3. After the caps reach $750,000/$1,000,000 in 2033, they will increase by 2% on January 1, 2034, and by an additional 2% every year thereafter.
4. MICRA limits a plaintiff’s recovery for noneconomic damages to $250,000, regardless of the number of defendants. AB 35 creates three separate categories of defendants for a total of three possible caps: One cap for health care providers (regardless of the number of providers or causes of action); one cap for health care institutions (regardless of the number of institutions or causes of action); and one cap for an unaffiliated health care provider or health care institution.
5. Periodic payments can be utilized for future economic damages starting at $250,000 (under MICRA, that started at $50,000).
6. The cap on plaintiffs’ attorneys contingency fees goes to 25% if the action is settled prior to the filing of an action and 33% if the recovery occurs thereafter.
7. The bill provides for evidentiary protections for providers who make statements about fault prior to litigation.  

These changes will have a profoundly positive impact on the lives of medical malpractice victims and their families. For almost five decades, CAOC leadership has fought, alongside our members and thousands of injured patients, to bring about fair compensation for those whose rights have been violated.

But while the increases in the cap under AB 35 are a welcomed improvement, any cap on the amount of damages awarded by a citizen jury that has heard evidence presented by both sides of a dispute are profoundly unfair. There have been, and will continue to be, cases where the value of the damage done far exceeds the cap limit. Only in medical negligence cases are Californians restricted in how much compensation they can receive for being harmed through no fault of their own.
 

Additional information:
•    CAOC’s 2022 President Craig Peters explains the changes to MICRA under Assembly Bill 35 (video)
•    Craig Peters’ testimony in support of Assembly Bill 35 before the California Assembly Judiciary Committee (video)