Lawmakers raise awards for malpractice lawsuits

SACRAMENTO » The California Legislature on Thursday agreed to increase how much money people can win in medical malpractice lawsuits, resolving one of the thorniest disputes in state politics by raising a cap on damages for the first time in 47 years.

California is one of 33 states that limits how much money people can win in medical malpractice lawsuits, according to an analysis last year by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Since 1975, the most money that Californians could win for pain and suffering in medical malpractice lawsuits was $250,000. Starting Jan. 1, that cap will increase to $350,000 for people who were injured and $500,000 for the relatives of people who died.

Those amounts will gradually increase over the next decade until they reach $750,000 for injured patients and $1 million for families of deceased patients. After that, the caps will increase 2% every year to keep up with inflation.

The state Assembly voted 60-0 on Thursday to send the bill to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has said he will sign it into law. It was a rare show of unity on a controversial issue.

“The fights that appear to bind us for decades are only as impossible to overcome as we allow them to be,” said Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes, a Democrat who authored the bill.