The Medical Malpractice Malaise of the California MICRA Law

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist or brain surgeon to diagnose the chronic maladies which have plagued medical malpractice cases (since 1976) and made them among the most difficult cases to successfully prosecute in the entire legal system.

When I graduated Loyola University School of Law in 1976 and went on to pass the California Bar exam, it was the consensus in the legal community that the new MICRA law (Medical Injury Reform Compensation Act of 1975) would be held unconstitutional because it discriminates unfairly against the victims of medical malpractice and arbitrarily limits the amount of non-economic damages such victims may recover against a negligent medical professional or hospital. Unfortunately all of the legal experts were wrong. Somehow, through twisted logic and pressure from the pro-doctor lobby and insurance companies, it was upheld as constitutional and became the law of the great state of California. It has remained unchanged for over 40 years.

To add insult to injury, the $250,000 cap on non-economic damages (among the lowest cap nationwide) and other Draconian limitations of MICRA, including the cap on attorneys fees, have never been increased to reflect inflation, and nothing has been done to remedy the inherent unfairness of this law.

Due to insurance industry propaganda proliferated by millions of dollars in slick advertising campaigns, Proposition 46 (to increase the cap) was overwhelmingly defeated in the November 2014 election, as has every other valiant effort by trial attorneys and consumer groups to lift the cap and right the wrong.

So, the victims of medical malpractice keep getting further victimized by a patently unfair law, and the only people standing up for this class of injured victims are the trial attorneys, like me, who fight against the insurance companies to get them some form of compensation.

The enormous expense and high risk of being unsuccessful in the prosecution of professional liability cases against medical professionals emboldens the defense attorneys, paid by the insurance companies, who have vastly superior resources than the ever decreasing number of plaintiffs attorneys willing to take a medical malpractice case on, when the vast majority of such cases that go to trial end favorably for the doctors. These harsh realities, boasted in advertising campaigns by insurers like NORCAL, delight in the fact that they win nearly 90% of all medical malpractice cases that go to trial and, therefore, rarely make fair settlement offers before trial.

When I guest lecture, every semester, at the Medical Malpractice class at Southwestern University School of Law, taught by my friend, Professor Edward Stark, I find myself apologizing to the students/future lawyers about the harsh realities and my recommendation that they find another area of law to practice when they become attorneys.

The only hope for a medical malpractice victim is to retain an attorney who is experienced and has a proven track record of success prosecuting these cases. As a seasoned trial attorney, for the past 40 years, with more than 200 jury trials under my belt, I have the ability and necessary skillset to level the playing field and fight for the injured victim. I am nationally board certified, as a Diplomate and Trial Attorney Specialist, in the area of medical malpractice, by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys and have been recognized as a Super Lawyer for every year since 2004 when that distinction was originated in California.

If you, or someone you love, becomes the victim of medical malpractice, please call us at The Drexler Law firm; We can’t guarantee success, but we are your best hope for winning against the powerful insurance companies who defend doctors and hospitals who commit medical negligence resulting in catastrophic injuries.

Disclaimers:

The information in this blog post (“post”) is provided for general informational purposes only, and may not reflect the current law in your jurisdiction.  This blog is not intended to, and does not, create an attorney client relationship, an offer of employment or a guarantee of success for clients of The Drexler Law firm.  No information or representation contained in this post should be construed as an offer of employment, guarantee of success or the creation of an attorney client relationship with The Drexler Law firm, nor as legal advice from The Drexler Law Firm or the individual author.  No reader of this post should act, or refrain from acting, on the basis of any information included in, or accessible through, this post without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from a lawyer in the corresponding jurisdiction.

There are time deadlines during which a case must be brought, according to your jurisdiction or state, and failing to abide by the jurisdictional statute of limitation rules can result in your case being time-barred.

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