How Does the MICRA Damages Cap Affect a California Medical Malpractice Case?

Like many states, California has a law on the books that limits the amount of money ("damages") an injured patient can receive in a medical malpractice case. Let's take a look at how this damages "cap" works, and how recent changes to the law have increased the amount of compensation available for harm caused by sub-standard medical care in California.

What Is MICRA?

California's take on medical malpractice damages caps is often referred to as the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA), which was originally passed in 1975, and is codified at California Civil Code section 3333.2.

Among other things, MICRA places a cap on "noneconomic damages" in medical malpractice lawsuits. This means, even after a jury has found that a patient's doctor (or other health care provider) committed medical malpractice, there's a limit on the amount of compensation they can be awarded for certain kinds of losses.

What Are "Noneconomic" Medical Malpractice Damages?

So, what are noneconomic damages? In personal injury cases (including medical malpractice lawsuits) they're awarded to a plaintiff to compensate for things like:

• mental and physical pain and suffering
• loss of enjoyment of life, and
• the psychological impact of scarring or disfigurement.

These are called noneconomic damages because they represent the kinds of losses that can't be easily measured by a dollar amount. (Learn more about pain and suffering in a medical malpractice case.)

What Is the Current Cap on Medical Malpractice Damages in California?

One of the more controversial aspects of MICRA was that the original cap of $250,000 on noneconomic damages had no provision accounting for inflation. It stayed at $250,000 for nearly 50 years, until May 2022, when an overhaul of MICRA increased the noneconomic damages cap for all medical malpractice cases initiated on or after January 1, 2023.

For 2025, the caps are set at:

• $430,000 for malpractice-related injuries that do not involve wrongful death, and
• $600,000 for medical malpractice that resulted in wrongful death.

The dollar amounts are set to be bumped up each year—by $40,000 for medical malpractice cases involving injury, and $50,000 for cases involving wrongful death—until 2034, when the caps reach $750,000 and $1 million, respectively. At that point the amount will be adjusted annually by two percent to account for inflation.

Note that the $250,000 cap will still apply to all medical malpractice cases filed before January 1, 2023. (You can read the full text of the legislation (AB35) on the California Legislature's website.)

California Doesn't Cap Economic Damages in Medical Malpractice Cases

Keep in mind that California has no cap on the amount of money that an injured patient can receive as compensation for medical care (past and future) made necessary by the malpractice, nor is there a cap on lost income or impairment of the patient's ability to earn a living because of the malpractice. These kinds of losses would be categorized as economic damages, and MICRA's cap doesn't affect them.

Learn more about deadlines to file a medical malpractice lawsuit in California, and damages in medical malpractice cases. And if you're wondering whether you've got a valid medical malpractice case against a California doctor or other health care provider, it might make sense to discuss your situation with a medical malpractice lawyer.