MICRA
The California Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act, a statutory cap on non-economic damages in medical-malpractice cases.
What it means in practice.
The 1975 cap of $250,000 was reformed by AB 35 (effective 2023) to a phased schedule rising over ten years; the current cap depends on whether the case involves a death and the year the case is filed.
MICRA is California’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act. Its best known rule caps non-economic damages, the money for pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life, in claims against health care providers. Economic losses such as medical bills and lost earnings are not capped.
The older cap was $250,000; a 2013 appeal shows it applied to a jury’s $1,325,000 finding. For cases filed from 1 January 2023 the statute sets two caps, $350,000 where the patient survives and $500,000 where the patient dies, and raises them by $40,000 and $50,000 every 1 January. In 2026 they stand at $470,000 and $650,000.
The cap applies after the jury’s verdict. A jury can find a much larger figure for pain and suffering; the judgment is then limited to the cap in force for that case.
How it works, step by step.
| Case filed in | Non-economic cap | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Earlier cases | $250,000, the cap applied in 2013 | Rashidi v. Moser (Cal. Ct. App. 2013) |
| 2023, injury | $350,000 | Cal. Civ. Code § 3333.2(b) |
| 2023, death | $500,000 | Cal. Civ. Code § 3333.2(c) |
| Each later year | Plus $40,000 (injury) and $50,000 (death) every 1 January | Cal. Civ. Code § 3333.2(g) |
| 2026, injury | $470,000 | Cal. Civ. Code § 3333.2 |
| 2026, death | $650,000 | Cal. Civ. Code § 3333.2 |
A worked example.
A blind eye and the old cap: Rashidi v. Moser (Cal. Ct. App. 2013)
- Injury
- Permanent blindness in one eye after a 2007 embolization for nosebleeds
- Past non-economic damages found
- $331,250
- Future non-economic damages found
- $993,750
- Future care
- $125,000
- Cap on non-economic damages then
- $250,000
The jury valued his pain and suffering at $1,325,000, but the award against the doctor was subject to the $250,000 cap in force at the time. The cap does not touch the economic damages.