Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Poorest Americans Dealt Biggest Blow Under Senate Republican Tax Package

7 hours ago

Trump Vowed to Dismantle MS-13. His Deal With Bukele Threatens That Effort.

11 hours ago

Ukraine Voices Concern as US Halts Some Missile Shipments

11 hours ago

Poll: Most Americans Say National Divide, Political Violence Threaten Democracy

11 hours ago

Paramount Settles With Trump Over ‘60 Minutes’ Interview for $16 Million

11 hours ago

Republicans Tee up House Vote on Trump Bill, Outcome Uncertain

12 hours ago

What’s Next for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs After His Sex Trafficking Trial?

12 hours ago

Dalai Lama Says He Will Be Reincarnated, Trust Will Identify Successor

12 hours ago
Walters: Great LA Times Malpractice Exposé Has Odd Omission
dan_walters
By Dan Walters, CalMatters Commentary
Published 4 years ago on
July 20, 2021

Share

Last week, the Los Angeles Times published a damning article about the state agency that is supposed to police California’s physicians.

It detailed how the Medical Board of California has repeatedly gone easy on doctors who have maimed and sometimes killed patients through incompetence.

Rather than lift their licenses to practice medicine, the board has allowed miscreant physicians to continue practicing under probation, the Times article declared.

Light Punishment for Offenses Warranting License Revocation

Dan Walters

Opinion

The Times devoted much of its article to Lancaster neurosurgeon Mukesh Misra, describing him as “among the 10 doctors most frequently found to have committed serious malpractice by the medical board, according to a Times analysis of board actions since 2008. The accusations substantiated by the board include gross negligence that left patients dead, paralyzed or missing limbs. Some doctors also were alleged to have misled patients — and the board’s own investigators — to conceal significant medical errors.

“The board found that nine of them committed offenses that warranted license revocation, but it instead gave them lighter punishment — their revocations were stayed and they were put on probation. Four went on to be accused of doing serious harm to other patients after their first board discipline, The Times found in a review of medical board records.”

In a followup article, the Times described how the California Medical Association, the professional organization that lobbies for doctors in the Capitol, has thwarted efforts to reform the medical board and make it a more effective guardian of the public’s welfare.

“Despite the issues highlighted in The Times’ investigation, patient advocates say they are hamstrung in their effort to push legislators to make meaningful changes in the name of public safety by the deep-pocketed California Medical Assn.,” the second article said.

Articles Omit Mention of Medical Malpractice Ballot Measures

This is serious stuff and the Times articles exemplify how independent news media function as a watchdog, in this case revealing lapses by a state agency that’s supposed to be a watchdog but evidently falls short.

That said, there was a curious omission in the two articles — no mention of a ballot measure that will go before voters next year dealing with medical malpractice, the precise issue the newspaper was investigating.

The omission was particularly odd because the Times quoted sponsors of the initiative measure without mentioning their campaign to undo a 46-year-old state law that limits damages in medical malpractice lawsuits.

The law, known as MICRA and signed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown in 1975, imposes a $250,000 cap on damages for pain and suffering. The cap had the desired affect of avoiding multi-million-dollar awards to injured patients and thus made lawyers less willing to take on cases.

Measure Would Eliminate Cap, Allowing Larger Settlements

Ever since, personal injury lawyers and consumer advocates have attempted countless times to either repeal MICRA or have the $250,000 cap adjusted upward, but have consistently failed in political arenas, including an unsuccessful 2014 ballot measure.

Technically, the new measure would not repeal MICRA but would effectively eliminate the cap, thus freeing injured patients and their lawyers to seek large settlements.

It promises to be a titanic clash of competing interests that will involve tens of millions of dollars in campaign spending. Ballotpedia, which charts ballot measures, reports that advocates have already raised more than $4 millon, most of it from one attorney, while medical industry opponents have collected more than $8 million.

The Times’ examples of patients who were mistreated and their doctors who were not punished will bolster the campaign for the measure and it should have rated at least a passing mention in the otherwise comprehensive articles.

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.

[activecampaign form=31]

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

House Republicans Say They Expect to Vote Tonight on Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill

DON'T MISS

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 8,300 Acres, Prompts Evacuations

DON'T MISS

SLO Deputies Fatally Shoot Man in Los Osos Weeks After US Marshal Impersonation Arrest

DON'T MISS

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

DON'T MISS

San Luis Obispo County Wildfire Burns More Than 3,000 Acres. No Containment Yet

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: Why Is State Lawmaker Taking Aim at Rooftop Solar?

DON'T MISS

Two Visalia Men Sentenced in 2021 Motel Killing

DON'T MISS

Ex-Jan. 6 Defendant Gets Life in Prison for Plot to Kill FBI Agents

DON'T MISS

Del Monte Files for Bankruptcy. Gets Nearly $1B to Keep Producing Through Process

DON'T MISS

Who is Running for Fresno Area Offices in 2026? An Updated Look

UP NEXT

Dear Mayor and City Council, Fresno’s Housing Bottlenecks Are a Modern Form of Redlining

UP NEXT

A Path Forward on Immigration Reform That Strengthens America

UP NEXT

Israel Faces Genocide Accusations Amid Gaza Food Aid Killings

UP NEXT

I Detest Netanyahu, but on Some Things He’s Actually Right

UP NEXT

Much of LA’s Community of Immigrants Is Hiding, Leaving a Hole in the Fabric of the City

UP NEXT

Things Netanyahu Might Say if Injected With Truth Serum

UP NEXT

California Politicians Ignore Ag’s Troubles, but Boost Movie Business

UP NEXT

Trump’s Courageous and Correct Decision to Bomb Iran

UP NEXT

How the Attacks on Iran Are Part of a Much Bigger Global Struggle

UP NEXT

Groceries Are Now a Luxury. So Is Breathing.

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

5 hours ago

San Luis Obispo County Wildfire Burns More Than 3,000 Acres. No Containment Yet

5 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Why Is State Lawmaker Taking Aim at Rooftop Solar?

5 hours ago

Two Visalia Men Sentenced in 2021 Motel Killing

5 hours ago

Ex-Jan. 6 Defendant Gets Life in Prison for Plot to Kill FBI Agents

6 hours ago

Del Monte Files for Bankruptcy. Gets Nearly $1B to Keep Producing Through Process

6 hours ago

Who is Running for Fresno Area Offices in 2026? An Updated Look

7 hours ago

CIA Review Finds Flaws but Does Not Dispute Finding Putin Sought to Sway 2016 Vote to Trump

7 hours ago

Poorest Americans Dealt Biggest Blow Under Senate Republican Tax Package

7 hours ago

Check Out Newest Downtown Mural. It’s a Spectacular Tribute to Fresno Artisans

8 hours ago

House Republicans Say They Expect to Vote Tonight on Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill

WASHINGTON – Republicans in the House of Representatives on Wednesday struggled to pass President Donald Trump’s massive tax-cut...

4 hours ago

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks to the press, as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 2, 2025. (Reuters/Annabelle Gordon)
4 hours ago

House Republicans Say They Expect to Vote Tonight on Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill

The Madre Fire in San Luis Obispo County has rapidly expanded to 8,396 acres with no containment, prompting evacuation orders and warnings near New Cuyama. (CalFire)
4 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 8,300 Acres, Prompts Evacuations

Andrew Biscay, 40, was arrested Friday, June 20, 2025, after deputies found him with a fake U.S. Marshal’s badge, homemade firearm, and law enforcement-style gear during a warrant arrest. (Madera County SO)
4 hours ago

SLO Deputies Fatally Shoot Man in Los Osos Weeks After US Marshal Impersonation Arrest

On Tuesday, July 1, 2025, a Madera County sheriff’s deputy was injured while trying to arrest a wanted felon, Felix Adrian Nucamendi Carrasco, 40, who later fled and was captured near Raymond Road. (Madera County SO)
5 hours ago

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

A wildfire dubbed the Madre Fire has burned over 3,300 acres near New Cuyama with 0% containment, officials said Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (CalFire)
5 hours ago

San Luis Obispo County Wildfire Burns More Than 3,000 Acres. No Containment Yet

5 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Why Is State Lawmaker Taking Aim at Rooftop Solar?

Jose Luna (left), 33, and Ralph Grajeda, 45, both of Visalia, have been sentenced for their roles in the 2020 shotgun killing of Robert Soto at a local motel. (Tulare County DA)
5 hours ago

Two Visalia Men Sentenced in 2021 Motel Killing

A U.S. Justice Department logo or seal showing Justice Department headquarters, known as "Main Justice," is seen behind the podium in the Department's headquarters briefing room before a news conference with the Attorney General in Washington, January 24, 2023. (Reuters File)
6 hours ago

Ex-Jan. 6 Defendant Gets Life in Prison for Plot to Kill FBI Agents

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend