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AB-1380 Liability: health care providers. (1999-2000)

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AB1380:v98#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  May 24, 1999

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 1999–2000 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1380

Introduced  by  Assembly Member Villaraigosa
 (Coauthor(s): Assembly Member Alquist, Aroner, Bock, Calderon, Cardenas, Cardoza, Cedillo, Corbett, Correa, Davis, Ducheny, Dutra, Firebaugh, Florez, Floyd, Gallegos, Havice, Hertzberg, Honda, Jackson, Keeley, Knox, Kuehl, Lempert, Longville, Lowenthal, Machado, Mazzoni, Migden, Nakano, Reyes, Romero, Scott, Shelley, Soto, Steinberg, Strom-Martin, Thomson, Torlakson, Vincent, Washington, Wayne, Wesson, Wiggins, Wildman, Wright)

February 26, 1999

An act to amend Section 3333.2 of the Civil Code, relating to liability.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1380, as amended, Villaraigosa. Liability: health care providers.
Existing law limits the liability of health care providers for noneconomic damages for personal injury or death for professional negligence to $250,000.
This bill would set forth findings of fact, including a statement that the limits need to be changed, provide for a cost-of-living adjustment of that amount based on the Consumer Price Index, as specified.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 (a) The Legislature finds that the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975 (MICRA) needs revision in order to balance the interests of health care professionals with the crucial need to ensure adequate compensation for medical malpractice victims, particularly women, children, the elderly and lower income Californians.
(b) MICRA’s limits on general damages for pain, suffering, inconvenience, disfigurement, or loss of quality of life to two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) have not been changed since the statute’s enactment in 1975.
(c) Since the law was enacted 24 years ago, the cost of living has increased so that the two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) cap on damages is estimated to be worth eighty-four thousand dollars ($84,000) today.
(d) The Legislature also finds that the MICRA law disproportionately affects women, children, the elderly, and lower income Californians because they are less likely than other citizens to have incurred substantial economic loss and must rely on noneconomic damages as the main source of compensation for the injuries suffered because of medical negligence.
(e) Therefore, the people of the State of California hereby recognize that the interests of justice and fairness demand immediate change to the MICRA law in order to better protect its citizens.
Section 3333.2 of the Civil Code is amended to read:

3333.2.
 (a) In any action for injury against a health care provider based on professional negligence, the injured plaintiff shall be entitled to recover noneconomic losses to compensate for pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, disfigurement and other nonpecuniary damage.
(b) In Except as provided in subdivision (c), in no action shall the amount of damages for noneconomic losses exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000).
(c) On February 1 of each year, the Treasurer shall adjust the limitation of noneconomic loss set forth in subdivision (b) to reflect the cumulative percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for all items published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor for the preceding calendar year.
(d) For the purposes of this section:
(1) “Health care provider” means any person licensed or certified pursuant to Division 2 (commencing with Section 500) of the Business and Professions Code, or licensed pursuant to the Osteopathic Initiative Act, or the Chiropractic Initiative Act, or licensed pursuant to Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 1440) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code; and any clinic, health dispensary, or health facility, licensed pursuant to Division 2 (commencing with Section 1200) of the Health and Safety Code. “Health care provider” includes the legal representatives of a health care provider;
(2) “Professional negligence” means a negligent act or omission to act by a health care provider in the rendering of professional services, which act or omission is the proximate cause of a personal injury or wrongful death, provided that such services are within the scope of services for which the provider is licensed and which are not within any restriction imposed by the licensing agency or licensed hospital.