Thursday, November 7, 2013
A proposed ballot initiative that would eliminate a cap on damages under California's medical malpractice law recently was cleared for circulation, the San Francisco Chronicle/Columbus Republic reports (Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle/Columbus Republic, 11/5).
Background
The Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act was enacted in 1975 to protect health care providers from increasing malpractice insurance rates and expensive lawsuits.
The law limits all damages related to pain and suffering or emotional loss from a loved one's death to $250,000. Under the law, economic and punitive damages remain unlimited in medical malpractice cases.
