Damages
Stop SB 447’s Imposition of Unlimited “Pain and Suffering” Damages
Daily Journal - May 13, 2021
Daily Journal published version here
CJAC Urges CA Supreme Court to Uphold Med-Mal Damages Cap
CJAC Liability Reform Insider (March 2021) – On March 1, CJAC
filed an amicus brief with the California Supreme Court
in Marisol Lopez v. Glenn Ledesma, M.D., et al.,
S262487.
In this case, at bench trial the plaintiff won $11,200 for
economic damages and $4.25 million in non-economic damages in her
medical malpractice action for the death of her four-year-old
daughter. The court then reduced the non-economic damage award to
$250,000 pursuant to MICRA.
CJAC Win: Non-Economic Damages Apportionment
CJAC Liability Reform Insider (March 2021) – In a major victory on the side of fair apportionment of non-economic damages, the Second Appellate District Court issued a unanimous, unpublished decision on March 25 in Putt v. CBS Corporation (Ford Motor Co.), which reversed the jury’s apportionment of 100% of fault to Ford for plaintiff’s injury.
CJAC originally filed an amici brief, joined by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in the case on January 6.
In the opinion, the court remanded for a new trial on the issues of:
Pain and Suffering Damages Expansion Bill Passed By Senate
CJAC Liability Reform Insider (May 3, 2021) – SB 447 (Laird),
which will dramatically expand pain and suffering damages, was
passed by the Senate last week and is headed to the Assembly.
SB 447 seeks to change existing California law to allow pain and
suffering damages in survival actions. Existing law prevents such
recovery but allows punitive and economic damages. The bill is a
massive expansion of damages and could affect all industries
subject to personal injury actions in California.