Initiative to Amend California’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act Qualifies for the November Ballot

• Increasing the statutory limit on non-economic damages for medical malpractice actions. The current limit is $250,000; the initiative would increase the cap to over $1 million, with annual increases.

• Adding a requirement for hospitals to conduct random drug and alcohol testing on medical staff members, as well as after adverse events.

• Creating a presumption of professional negligence in any action against a practitioner who tested positive for drugs or alcohol or who refused the test.

• Expanding the state-run prescription drug database, known as the “Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES).”

The initiative, supported by Consumer Watchdog and the trial lawyer association Consumer Attorneys of California, will be assigned a proposition number in early July. It faces heavy opposition: according to the website, Stop Higher Healthcare Costs: Protect Access to Care, the initiative is opposed by dozens of health care trade associations (including the California Medical Association and the California Hospital Association), several labor unions, and many other organizations. Given the rhetoric already adopted by those in favor and opposed to the proposition, it is widely anticipated that the initiative campaign will be exceedingly adversarial through Election Day.

If you would like further information about California’s initiative to amend MICRA, please contact Lowell C. Brown, Thomas E. Jeffry Jr., or Erin L. Muellenberg, or the Arent Fox attorney who normally handles your legal affairs.