Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Deal Ends California's Long War Over 'Pain and Suffering' Award Limits
By admin
Published 3 years ago on
May 2, 2022

Share

 

During the early months of Jerry Brown’s first governorship, it became trendy for those pushing political causes to stage “sleep-ins” in the foyer of Brown’s Capitol office to draw media attention.

One of the oddest involved spouses of doctors who were seeking relief from soaring medical malpractice lawsuit awards that were driving up their liability insurance premiums. Their sleep-in, complete with down sleeping bags and food deliveries from Sacramento’s toniest restaurants, did, indeed, attract media attention. In fact, one doctor’s wife became so energized by her foray into politics that she divorced her husband and went to work for a legislator.

Behind the 1975 media sideshow, a high-powered political battle was underway, pitting physicians, hospitals and other medical care providers, with support from malpractice insurers, against attorneys who specialized in personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis.

Dan Walters

CalMatters

Opinion

It culminated in legislative passage, with Brown’s support, of the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act, forever known by its acronym, MICRA. It limited damages for non-economic injuries, dubbed “pain and suffering,” to $250,000, a huge win for the medical faction and an equally huge setback for the lawyers.

MICRA’s enactment touched off a nearly half-century-long political war as attorneys and consumer advocates repeatedly sought repeal or modification of its $250,000 cap, arguing that it unfairly denied adequate compensation to patients and their families. It also generated efforts in other states to enact similar limits on malpractice lawsuit damages.

There was a slight modification of MICRA in 1987 as part of the infamous “napkin deal” worked out by lobbyists and legislators at Frank Fat’s restaurant. Otherwise, arguing that the cap was needed to protect providers from voracious lawyers, the medical/insurance coalition fended off every attack in the Legislature or at the ballot box, most recently in a 2014 ballot measure that voters rejected by a 2-to-1 margin.

The two sides were gearing up for another clash this year over another ballot measure that would severely modify the cap, tantamount to virtual repeal, but last week, a truce was declared. The contending forces reached a compromise that will retain MICRA, but gradually raise the $250,000 cap. It was quickly inserted into a pending bill and if it is ratified by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, which seems certain, the ballot measure will be dropped.

So why, after so many years of political warfare, is there a peace treaty? The simple answer is fatigue.

It was becoming increasingly difficult for the battling coalitions to continue asking their members to cough up tens of millions of dollars for the ballot battles and it was likely that whatever happened on the latest initiative would be set in stone forever. So it was prudent for both to negotiate something that they could tolerate going forward rather than chance the outcome of another election.

The negotiated deal is also another example of how a change in California election law a few years ago changed the dynamics of using the initiative process.

Previously, once a measure was qualified for the ballot, it would be presented to voters even if its sponsors had a change of heart. Now, qualified measures can be removed from the ballot up to a certain date. Thus, a pending measure becomes leverage for sponsors to seek legislative compromises on their cause.

That’s either good government — resolving knotty issues via negotiation rather than confrontation — or extortion, depending on one’s point of view. It’s been used a couple of times in the past but the MICRA deal is the splashiest example yet.

About the Author

Dan Walters has been a journalist for nearly 60 years, spending all but a few of those years working for California newspapers. He began his professional career in 1960, at age 16, at the Humboldt Times. For more columns by Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.

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

Hey PG&E Customers, Get Ready for New ‘Transaction Fees’

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Ending ‘Squaw Valley’ Fight After Latest Court Ruling

DON'T MISS

Exclusive: Tesla to Delay US Launch of Affordable EV, a Lower-Cost Model Y, Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Clovis Reconsiders Recycling Vote. Will a Campaign Contribution Matter?

DON'T MISS

Gov. Newsom Offers $50K Reward in 2022 Kings County Homicide

DON'T MISS

Trump’s White House Launches COVID Website That Criticizes WHO, Fauci and Biden

DON'T MISS

Fresno ‘Powers Up’ the Nation’s Largest Combined Solar and Battery Storage Project

DON'T MISS

Trump Admin Asserts COVID-19 Originated in Chinese Lab, Targets Fauci

DON'T MISS

Vendors Back at Fresno’s Art Hop? Survey Wants to Know What You Think

DON'T MISS

Russian Missile Attack Kills One, Wounds 112 in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Officials Say

UP NEXT

Why Is It So Expensive to Build Affordable Homes in CA? It Takes Too Long

UP NEXT

What Some Animals Endure Before We Eat Them

UP NEXT

Zakaria Warns of ‘Crony Capitalism’ in Trump’s Tariff Reversal

UP NEXT

How California Can Reduce High Concession Prices in Its Taxpayer-Funded Stadiums

UP NEXT

Why Palestinian Christians Feel Betrayed by American Christians

UP NEXT

Other States Do Housing Better Than California; a New Study Shows How They Do It

UP NEXT

Trump and Netanyahu Steer Toward an Ugly World, Together

UP NEXT

New Plan to Accelerate CA High-Speed Rail Construction Deserves Attention, Support

UP NEXT

Why Did So Many People Delude Themselves About Trump?

UP NEXT

LA Feud Is Prime Example of Constant Clashes Between CA Cities and Counties

Clovis Reconsiders Recycling Vote. Will a Campaign Contribution Matter?

18 hours ago

Gov. Newsom Offers $50K Reward in 2022 Kings County Homicide

18 hours ago

Trump’s White House Launches COVID Website That Criticizes WHO, Fauci and Biden

19 hours ago

Fresno ‘Powers Up’ the Nation’s Largest Combined Solar and Battery Storage Project

20 hours ago

Trump Admin Asserts COVID-19 Originated in Chinese Lab, Targets Fauci

20 hours ago

Vendors Back at Fresno’s Art Hop? Survey Wants to Know What You Think

20 hours ago

Russian Missile Attack Kills One, Wounds 112 in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Officials Say

20 hours ago

Iran Says Nuclear Deal Is Possible if Washington Is Realistic

20 hours ago

49ers Look to Strengthen Depleted Defense in NFL Draft

21 hours ago

Habit Burger & Grill Quietly Drops Impossible Burger From Menu

21 hours ago

Hey PG&E Customers, Get Ready for New ‘Transaction Fees’

Pacific Gas & Electric customers are already paying some of the nation’s highest rates for electricity, and their bills could be g...

17 hours ago

17 hours ago

Hey PG&E Customers, Get Ready for New ‘Transaction Fees’

17 hours ago

Fresno County Ending ‘Squaw Valley’ Fight After Latest Court Ruling

Tesla Inc. vehicle facility is pictured in Costa Mesa, California, U.S., November 1, 2023. (REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo)
17 hours ago

Exclusive: Tesla to Delay US Launch of Affordable EV, a Lower-Cost Model Y, Sources Say

18 hours ago

Clovis Reconsiders Recycling Vote. Will a Campaign Contribution Matter?

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. Newsom vetoed a landmark bill aimed at establishing first-in-the-nation safety measures for large artificial intelligence models Sunday, Sept. 29. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)
18 hours ago

Gov. Newsom Offers $50K Reward in 2022 Kings County Homicide

The logo of the World Health Organization is seen at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, January 28, 2025. (REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo)
19 hours ago

Trump’s White House Launches COVID Website That Criticizes WHO, Fauci and Biden

20 hours ago

Fresno ‘Powers Up’ the Nation’s Largest Combined Solar and Battery Storage Project

20 hours ago

Trump Admin Asserts COVID-19 Originated in Chinese Lab, Targets Fauci

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

Search

Send this to a friend