Under the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975, California caps pain and suffering awards in medical malpractice cases at $250,000 regardless of how many healthcare providers are found negligent, the Los Angeles Times reports. If the cap had been adjusted annually for inflation, it would now be $1.3 million.
Under Assembly Bill 35, the amount patients can be awarded for pain and suffering will increase to $350,000, effective for cases filed on or after Jan. 1. That amount will incrementally increase over a 10-year period to $750,000. In cases involving a patient’s death, the cap on pain and suffering awards rises to $500,000 on Jan. 1, increasing to $1 million over the next decade.
After 10 years of increases, the cap will be annually adjusted by 2 percent.
The new legislation also means a patient is eligible for up to three payments in lawsuits involving multiple physicians, nurses or hospitals. One payment would be linked to a doctor or nurse’s negligence, another for that of a hospital, and a third payment will be permitted for pain and suffering in rare cases involving a separate, unaffiliated provider, which brings the potential total award to $1.5 million.
Mr. Newsom’s signature on AB 35 averts a ballot measure set for November to overhaul MICRA.