preserving access to courts

While MICRA has reduced incentives to litigate the weakest claims, it has not affected access to the courts for individuals with justifiable claims. In fact, more medical lawsuits are being filed per capita today than before MICRA was enacted.

• Injured patients receive their awards 26 percent sooner than patients in states without MICRA reforms.
• Patients are fully compensated for their actual economic damages — there is no limit on present and future medical costs, wage loss or punitive damage awards. The $250,000 cap only applies to non-economic damages.
• Patients receive the lion's share of settlements and awards — not attorneys — because MICRA limits attorneys' fees.
• Attorneys' fees were reduced by 60 percent between 1995 and 1999, according to a 2004 RAND Corporation report.
• To curb abuse of the system, plaintiffs are prohibited from claiming multiple payments for the same injury.

There is no evidence that MICRA's reforms have reduced patients' access to the courts or their ability to obtain compensation for their losses. In fact, the average number of malpractice lawsuits filed in the last 7 years is 22 percent higher than the average number filed in the seven years preceding MICRA's enactment.

"MICRA and Access to Healthcare," February 2005

Attachments:

• Survey tracks large California malpractice awards and settlements (Medical Underwriters of California 2007 Report) (pdf)