California medical malpractice laws (MICRA) will finally change to benefit the public

I am thrilled to announce some really good news! The medical malpractice laws in California are finally about to improve after 50 years! It’s a miracle.

In my previous article Understanding the Fairness for Injured Patients Act you read about how archaic and unjust the law has been in California for the past 50 years to people who are injured, maimed or killed by medical malpractice. As an example, if you were 25 years old and suffered permanent brain damage due to medical malpractice and therefore you could never walk, talk, eat or even get a job and work again in your life, all you could recover was $250,000.

Under the proposed new laws, the legal cap on pain and suffering awards will go up to $350,000 beginning January 1, 2023. That amount would gradually increase over a 10-year period to $750,000. In cases involving a patient’s death, the cap on pain and suffering awards would increase to $500,000 and would grow to $1 million over the next decade. After that, the cap would be adjusted annually by a 2% cost of living increase.

Some very hard-working consumer lawyers have been trying to change these unjust laws by placing an initiative on the ballot this November, and as a result of their work and negotiations, the powerful medical and pharmaceutical industry lobbies have agreed to amend the current laws to make them at least a little bit fairer to injured patients.

You can see a summary of the changes here: MICRA Modifications.

And here is an L.A. Times article about the changes coming soon: L.A. Times.

If you are looking for an exceptional medical malpractice lawyer, it would be my pleasure to help you find the very best! Higher Legal is a California State Bar Certified Lawyer Referral Service (LRS#130)