The Los Angeles Times has analyzed state court records since the inception of the state's medical malpractice "reform" legislation in 1975 (known as the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act, or MICRA).
That was the year that "pain and suffering" damages were capped at $250,000. Thirty other states have similar laws.
The study bears out several fairly-obvious results: (1) Filings and pay-outs have gone way done. (2) It's hard to find a lawyer to represent legitimate - even egregious - cases.
(Sound vaguely familiar to similar "reform" legislation?)
Thus, the same debate continues with medical malpractice "justice" as in the workers' compensation arena. Is keeping costs down the only important factor? How do you balance fair compensation for legitimate claims with controlling those costs?
Some of the newspapers findings:
• Malpractice filings are down 48% in Los Angeles since 2001 and have also gone way down in 8 of the 10 most populated counties.
• The number of pay-outs to victims and families statewide has decreased by 24% since 1991.
• Malpractice premiums in California have risen about a third of the national average (which apparently has attracted more doctors to the state).
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