TortsProf Blog

Editor: Christopher J. Robinette
Southwestern Law School

Friday, August 29, 2014

MICRA Cap Increase Rider: Physician Drug-Testing

Prop 46, a California ballot initiative to raise the 1975 non-economic damages cap from $250,000 to $1.1M, includes a rider:  physician drug-testing.  The two are joined in the "Troy and Alana Pack Patient Safety Act of 2014."  Download pdf here:  Download Troyandalanapackpatientsafetyactof201400202344.  I'm not a fan of non-economic damages caps (though I acknowledge problems with non-economic damages).  Moreover, the cap increase strikes me as an easy call.  The cap hasn't been raised in 39 years and the increase is just an inflation adjustment; I ran a quick inflation calculation and $250,000 in 1975 is approximately $1.1M.  I do, however, object to the compound question nature of the initiative.  These are very different issues and should be considered separately.  The Sacramento Bee has details.

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/tortsprof/2014/08/micra-cap-increase-rider-physician-drug-testing.html

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Comments

That's untrue. There are no "riders" in the proposition, it's all just one proposition for patient safety. They are NOT very different issues, they all relate to patient safety. Different issues would be like: gay marriage, water bonds, and tax increases.

Posted by: Eric Andrist | Aug 31, 2014 1:03:12 PM

They are different issues and they create a compound question. Some people, me included, may want to vote one way on one issue and a different way on the other.

Posted by: Chris Robinette | Aug 31, 2014 2:33:50 PM

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