Court decides on medical liability protections

The Supreme Court of California recently considered a case that could reduce important medical liability protections for physicians under the seminal Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA). What was at stake Under deliberation in Winn v. Pioneer Medical Group was whether a claim based on medical negligence committed against an elderly patient could give rise to action under the California Elder Abuse Act.  Such an approach would avoid protections allowed in medical negligence cases under MICRA, California’s historic tort reform law, which keeps liability insurance premiums low and places a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages in medical liability lawsuits to ensure patients in the state have access to affordable health care. An elderly patient with peripheral vascular disease was treated over a period of time by Pioneer Medical Group, and the condition steadily worsened until she died in 2010. The plaintiffs alleged that Pioneer Medical Group violated the Elder Abuse Act by failing to provide the patient with proper care by not referring her to a specialist. Following lower court decisions that called into question whether the case was of professional negligence or reckless neglect, the case moved to the state supreme court. Professional negligence does not fall under the Elder Abuse Act, which specifically states that professional negligence should be governed by laws that apply to professional negligence—in this case, MICRA. A lower court held that if th...
Source: AMA Wire - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Source Type: news