MICRA Reforms Don’t Reduce Access to Courts

A favorite argument of trial lawyers is that medical liability reforms such as those in California and Texas reduce access to the courts for medical patients with injury claims. A November 2008 study led by former California Legislative Analyst William Hamm refutes that assertion: “There is no evidence that MICRA’s cap on non-economic damages awards has materially reduced access to the courts for those individuals with meritorious claims of medical liability,” the study concludes. In fact, “tort claims for personal injury, other than those involving medical liability, have declined more rapidly than those subject to the MICRA cap,” says the study, by LECG, LLC, of Emeryville, CA9.