The highly anticipated midterm elections in November 2022 will have even more impact in the state of California, as residents will vote to increase the caps on medical malpractice lawsuits, a law that was signed into law nearly 40 years ago by then-governor Jerry Brown in 1975.
The law caps medical malpractice lawsuit awards to $250,000; if passed, the initiative would allow jurors and judges to allow compensation of more than a quarter million dollars in cases of death or catastrophic injury. The current cap only applies to non-economic damages in medical malpractice claims.
Non-economic damages are not financial repercussions of the questioned treatment, they are psychological, emotional and even spiritual damages as a part of a loss in quality of life. Signs of loss of quality of life include depression, anxiety, possible alcoholism, anger management issues and general discomfort.
Over 900,000 signatures have been collected by Californians to get the initiative on the ballot in November 2022, bypassing the threshold needed of nearly 625,000 signatures. The official title of the initiative statute is “Adjust Limitations in Medical Negligence Cases.”
The initiative statute is being supported by The Fairness for Injured Patients Act Coalition. The campaign has received well over $5 million, about half of the nearly $10 million its opposition has received, led by the group Californians to Protect Patients and Contain Health Care Costs.
Hot Topic History
In the four decades in which the cap has been official law, challenges to the law started nearly from day one. The law was passed in the midst of the 1970s inflation era, to dissuade fake and unnecessary lawsuits against doctors and hospitals. The cap of $250,000 was never modified despite many attempts throughout the years.
The most recent major push to change the law was less than a decade ago in 2014, when the proposal was soundly defeated at the midterm election day. Proponents of the 2022 initiative will point out that the 2014 initiative also contained controversial provisions that would have required standard random drug testing for doctors as well as patient background checks prior to prescribing medicine.
November Knowledge
If this initiative is passed in November, the limit of non-economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits would increase to $1.2 million and would increase annually based on inflation rate. Attorneys would also be able to collect fees that factor inflation rate.
Another anticipated result of the initiative passing are higher health care costs. It is a tradeoff that will have a long-term effect on the health care system. Political pundits are already anticipating a high spend on television and radio advertisements to sway public opinion.
If state history is any indicator, a victory for either side could mean a law implemented for one to three decades before its next challenge.
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