A huge win for trial lawyers in California

In a hugely disappointing turn of events, Governor Newson signed AB 35 into law on May 23, 2022, which means MICRA has been eliminated, and malpractice insurance awards are set to rise in the state of California. This law eliminates the $250,000 cap on non-economic damages that has been in place since 1975. It's a huge win for trial attorneys and it now undoubtedly makes California a much less physician-friendly state.

It's also worth mentioning that the California Medical Association, an organization which claims to represents the interests of California's physicians, did this back-room deal with the legislators, without consulting ANY of the speciality societies (including the California Society of Anesthesiologists). It's notable that, in official press releases, not even a single one of California's numerous specialty societies is mentioned. 

Let's recap what happened: there was a ballot initiative for this November's election which proposed doing away with MICRA and increasing the limits on malpractice awards. The ballot initiative was, not surprisingly, mainly funded by one trial lawyer, someone who doesn't even live in the state of California. See for yourself: https://ballotpedia.org/California_Changes_to_Medical_Malpractice_Lawsuits_Cap_Initiative_(2022)

The ballot initiative had a very good chance of failing, given that it was outfunded 6 to 1 (ballot initiatives are usually won by the side that funds the most). However, in a shocking and inexplicable turn of events, the CMA worked with the trial lawyer and California legislators, completely in private, to create legislation and gather support. All of this occurred without ANY consultation with the specialty societies. 

So, what now? Well, for one, we know the CMA doesn't represent physicians, at least not on this issue. The CMA put out the lame excuse that it was looking to avoid a costly battle over the November ballot initiative, but with many other big backers on the "against" side (i.e. Kaiser, The Doctors Company, California Hospital Association), and with the "for" side outfunded 6 to 1 (!!), the CMA's explanation simply doesn't hold water. Read CMA's lame press release here: https://www.cmadocs.org/micra2022

As for the specifics, AB 35 states that caps for non-economic damages will increase to $350,000 starting Jan 1 2023 and increase to $750,000 in 10 years, and in cases involving death, those figures are $500,000 and $1 million. 

Also, we know malpractice insurance premiums will go up in California, and the state will become overall a less favorable place for physicians. Combine this with the high cost of living and high taxes, and physician groups in California can expect to have an increasingly tough time recruiting new doctors out of training.