Important Update: Legal Changes to Medical Malpractice
For almost 50 years, the law in medical malpractice cases has been extremely unfair to injured individuals. If a person was injured or killed by a negligent doctor, hospital, or other medical provider, Pain and Suffering damages were limited to $250,000.00. This was the law even if a jury thought the value of the case was in the millions. This was the only type of case in California with these incredibly restrictive limits.
Fortunately, the law around these types of cases has undergone significant changes for the first time in nearly 50 years. The new law went into effect January 1, 2023. While there were a number of changes, the most important was an increase of the old limit of $250,000.00. This $250,000.00 limit was applicable even if the matter was a wrongful death case. Now, the general damage limit on injury cases has been increased to $350,000.00 with annual increases of $40,000.00 every year through 2033 until it reaches $750,000.00. In wrongful death cases, the limit has been increased to $500,000.00 with annual increases of $50,000.00 until it reaches $1,000,000.00. After 2033, the caps will increase by 2% per year. This is a dramatic and much needed change.
Another important adjustment is that there are now different categories of defendants, and if more than one applies to your case, the caps on damages may increase. For example, prior to these changes if both a physician and a hospital were negligent, an injured plaintiff would still only be entitled to recover a maximum amount of $250,000.00 for pain and suffering. Now, there are three separate categories of defendants. So, if both a physician and a hospital were negligent the maximum general damages recovery would be $700,000.00 in a personal injury case or $1,000,000.00 in a wrongful death case.
Now—in 2024–the limits are $390,000.00 in personal injury cases, and $550,000.00 in wrongful death cases. Moreover, if there is more than one defendant these limits may be higher.
The importance of these changes cannot be overstated. This is a huge step in helping those who have been injured by a physician or healthcare provider to obtain an appropriate recovery.