CA’s $250,000 Compensation Cap Set in 1975 is Most Regressive in America

Published on

20 states plus Washington, DC have no cap on noneconomic damages.

      – These include progressive states such as New York, Washington, and Connecticut as well as conservative states like Alabama, Wyoming, and Kentucky.

California is 1 of just 3 states with a cap as low as $250,000 with no exceptions. $250,000 is the lowest cap in the country. (Montana and Texas are the other two)

In just 2019, 3 states either overturned their caps or adjusted them for inflation.

      – Kansas’ Supreme Court overturned a $250,000 cap on non-economic damages

      – Oklahoma’s Supreme Court found that all caps on damages in personal injury cases are unconstitutional

      – Colorado’s legislature passed a bill that will allow for the caps of non-economic and wrongful death damages to be adjusted in accordance with inflation every two years

Another state’s cap is currently being challenged

     – New Mexico has a case pending before the Supreme Court that could affirm a lower court’s ruling to overturn the state’s $600,000 medical malpractice cap

12 states have adjusted or overturned their caps in the past decade (Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia)

     – Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Illinois, and Oklahoma overturned in the past decade.

14 caps include exceptions in cases, for example, of wrongful death or catastrophic injury. (Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia)

8 caps include provisions for periodic adjustment according to inflation rates. (Idaho, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia)

California is 1 of just 5 states that has a statute of limitations as short as 1 year. (The others are Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio, Tennessee)

Full list of 21 states & DC with no cap:

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wyoming.

Latest Patient Safety Videos

Video thumbnail
KGTV-SD (ABC) - San Diego, CA: Doctor Accused of Putting Hidden Camera In A Hospital Restroom
03:22
Video thumbnail
KFMB-SD (CBS) - San Diego, CA: Dental Visit Leads To Hospital Stay
02:51
Video thumbnail
KGET - Bakersfield, CA: California Medical Board Meets in Bakersfield to Address Maternal Mortality
02:52
Video thumbnail
KBAK (FOX58) - Bakersfield, CA: High Maternal Mortality Rate
02:59
Video thumbnail
KERO-BFL (23ABC) – Bakersfield, CA: Maternal Mortality Addressed By Medical Board
03:12
Video thumbnail
KERO-BFL (23ABC) – Bakersfield, CA: Pregnancy Care Mistreatment
02:22
Video thumbnail
CNBC - Last Call: Home Insurance Crisis
06:45
Video thumbnail
KOVR-SAC (CBS) - Sacramento, CA: Physician Under Fire For Sexual Battery
02:12
Video thumbnail
KERO-BFL (ABC) - Bakersfield, CA: Crystal Guijarro Rodriguez on the Negligence of Doctors
06:09
Video thumbnail
KFMB-SD (CBS) - San Diego, CA: Hundreds Wrongly Told They May Have Cancer
03:20
Video thumbnail
KERO-BFL (ABC) - Bakersfield, CA: Larcenia Taylor on the Loss of Her Husband James Taylor
05:13
Video thumbnail
KERO-BFL (ABC) - Bakersfield, CA: Monica De La Rosa Speaks About the Loss of her Daughter Sabrina
04:35
Video thumbnail
KERO-BFL (ABC) - Bakersfield, CA: Tracy Dominguez Speaks About The Loss of Her Daughter and Grandson
07:22
Video thumbnail
KERO-BFL (ABC) - Bakersfield, CA: Michele Ramos Speaks About Loss and Liability in the Medical Field
07:58
Video thumbnail
KGET - Consumer Watchdog Advocates Note The Importance of Making Change Within The Healthcare System
02:26
Video thumbnail
ABC - Bakersfield, CA; Consumer Watchdog Shows Support in Honor of the Latina Maternal Health Fair
02:53
Video thumbnail
KABC- Los Angeles, CA; Pathways Medical in Toluca Lake Owner Falsely Claims to be A Licensed Doctor
02:22
Video thumbnail
Spectrum News; CW Argues Senate Bill 815's Proposed Changes Aren't Enough To Protect Patients
02:39

Latest Patient Safety Releases

Patient Safety In The News

Support Consumer Watchdog

Subscribe to our newsletter

To be updated with all the latest news, press releases and special reports.

More Patient Safety Releases