When the typical person thinks of medical malpractice lawsuits, they think of enormous financial awards being given away over minor injuries. People cannot help but think of the famed McDonald’s coffee spill case in which a claimant was awarded a million dollars for spilling coffee in her lap. In reality, medical malpractice cases require lots of research, are difficult to win and are the subject of much controversy in the United States Congress. If you have been injured by a negligent doctor, you should talk to a personal injury law firm such as Hobbs Law Group. Our personal injury attorneys are well versed in all kinds of personal injury law in California.
How Much Money Can You Get?
California has tort reform, which means that a person is limited in the amount of money they receive as a result of a medical malpractice case. Passed into law in 1975, The Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act states that a person can receive no more than $250,000 in compensation for “pain and suffering.” Although other states with caps have provisions in the law to increase the amount over time, California has not changed the $250,000 amount since the law passed. As a result, some attorneys are hesitant to take medical malpractice cases due to the limit in the awards. Attorneys are also limited in the percentage of the award that they may charge a client. Fortunately, you may recover money for the loss of future wages. Even then, MICRA asserts that a plaintiff be awarded their money over time and not all at once.
Why States Pass Tort Reform
Tort reform proponents argue that reducing the amount of awards in medical malpractice cases will reduce medical costs for the average person. Medical costs in California have seen a steady increase since the passage of MICRA. As of 2018, more than one-third of the Golden State’s budget goes to health care, with private health care costing Californians over 100 billion dollars annually. Medical malpractice has become the third leading cause of death in the United States, causing malpractice activist and lobbyist to increase their fight against tort reform.
Although tort reformers like to take credit for a decrease in medical malpractice insurance rates, the rates actually decreased due to the passage of Proposition 103 in the late 1980s. The law requires insurance companies to get approval of rate increases from the California Department of Insurance. The law, which was passed by a ballot measure, required insurers to roll back rates by 20 percent.
How Much Money to Expect
The amount of money you will receive in a medical malpractice case will depend on the damages you have suffered. You can recover money for wages that you have already lost and future wages that you will lose. You can get money for past and future medical bills. You may be limited in the amount of money you can get for pain and suffering, but there are some cases in which a judge will award punitive damages.
When you meet with your attorney, be sure to bring every piece of evidence and documentation that you have that is related to your case. Bring copies of medical bills, house cleaning bills and a letter from your employer documenting the time that you have missed off of work.
Having any medical problem is hard enough without having to deal with incompetent doctors. A good attorney can get you the money and the help you deserve.
