Medical patients are the only legal group of victims in the U.S. not permitted to seek full damages for harm they suffer.

Each state in the U.S. handles medical negligence differently. Some states place caps on compensation to victims; others do not. In California, life is essentially valued at a maximum of $250,000 (until 2023), no matter how catastrophic the negligence. In some states, caps are indexed to inflation or adjusted in the event of death - but not in California. Adjusted for inflation, the California cap, which was set in 1975, is reduced to approximately $50,000. Since compensation cannot be awarded enough to offset high trial costs, the poor, disabled, and elderly are often denied due process. Children, students, homemakers, retirees, and others without income are also disenfranchised. The estates of injured patients who are single and/or without children can recover nothing.

Until recently, no governor or lawmaker in California had been willing to alter the 1975 law. In 2020, patient advocates with Consumer Watchdog and attorney Nick Rowley gathered enough signatures to qualify for the November 2022 state ballot. In an unprecedented effort to avoid a costly battle, opposing groups came together and negotiated a compromise. Under Governor Gavin Newsom’s leadership, an improved California medical negligence law was signed on May 23, 2022, effective in 2023. The California cap was increased to $1.5 million (depending on the situation) and will adjust to inflation.

While restrictive medical negligence laws across the U.S. have unfairly limited the civil rights of injured patients, essentially rendering doctors and hospitals unaccountable for their errors, there is now hope that laws are moving toward equity. If change is possible in California, there is hope for patients in other states as well.

All victims deserve justice and access to due process, no matter where their injury occurred.

With limited or zero access to the legal system, as dictated by state laws, injured patients and their families turn to state oversight agencies for answers and and some sense of justice. I learned through experience that state oversight agencies, such as the Medical Board of California (MBC) and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), are not in the business of protecting patients or safeguarding patient rights.

When the legal system closed its doors on me, I filed complaints with the MBC and CDPH. I didn’t want the errors that killed my sister to kill other patients. I expected a thorough investigation. I would soon realize I had expected too much.

I received formulaic responses that the MBC and CDPH had “investigated” the matter and closed my complaints without action. No further details were provided. Neither agency had interviewed me or the doctors involved. Neither agency had reviewed my documents, which included emails with medical providers. The investigations were limited only to the portion of the medical record that a hospital chose to provide, and not the complete medical record.

A report from one agency was rife with factual errors and inexplicable assumptions. Statements from doctors and nurses were automatically deemed as fact without any substantiation from colleagues or witnesses. All statements from medical providers were deemed true - while my input was disregarded. I learned that unless a doctor or nurse admits to their mistake in the medical record, there is little chance of an “investigation” yielding any appropriate consequences.

The complaints proved to be a waste of time.

Caps on damages for medical negligence were initially justified as a way to curtail the rise in medical costs; specifically, the cost of malpractice premiums. In practice, that hasn’t happened: premiums have continued to rise.

Placing caps on damages shows no consideration to victims, who should be compensated for their pain and suffering. Since caps limit potential recoverability, they make it more challenging for a victim to find an attorney. Medical negligence litigation tends to be expensive. Most plaintiff attorneys consult with medical experts before taking on a case and incur substantial upfront costs for file review. These lawsuits therefore tend not to be frivolous.

Without access to an attorney, victims are left with nowhere to turn.