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The Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) of 1975 was a statute enacted by the California Legislature in September 1975〔http://www.caoc.org/docDownload/675009〕 (and signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown in September) which was intended to lower medical malpractice liability insurance premiums for healthcare providers in that state by decreasing their potential tort liability. MICRA's stated justification, in turn, was to keep healthcare providers as a whole financially solvent, thus lowering the cost of healthcare services and increasing their availability. MICRA's constitutionality was repeatedly challenged during the 1970s and 1980s, but most of it was eventually upheld as constitutional under rational basis review by the Supreme Court of California or the California Courts of Appeal. 〔http://scocal.stanford.edu/opinion/fein-v-permanente-medical-group-30633〕Almost all of MICRA is still in effect and still part of California law. ==Provisions== MICRA consists of the following parts: * Damage cap - non-economic damages are limited to $250,000. Non-economic damages include claims for pain and suffering, loss of consortium, both of which permit the financial recovery for losing limbs, losing sight or hearing, the ability to walk, and all other losses that do not directly relate to economic losses. Only two other states, Kansas and Montana, have a cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases as low as California’s. In 21 states and the District of Columbia there is no cap on medical malpractice damage awards. (That includes two states, Maine and Oregon, that have no specific cap on medical malpractice damages but have a cap on noneconomic damages in any wrongful death action.) Six other states have no cap on medical malpractice damages under some circumstances.〔American Medical Association Advocacy Resource Center, “State Laws Chart I: Liability Reforms,” http://www.ama-assn.org/resources/doc/arc/state-laws-chart-1.pdf〕 Florida joined that list in 2014 when the Florida Supreme Court struck down its cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases involving wrongful death.〔 http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/decisions/2014/sc11-1148.pdf〕 California law does not include any provision to adjust the cap for inflation, so it has remained at $250,000 since it was enacted in 1975. Seven states with a cap (Idaho, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia) have a statutory provision for increasing that cap over time, adjusting for inflation or other factors.〔American Medical Association Advocacy Resource Center, “State Laws Chart I: Liability Reforms,” http://www.ama-assn.org/resources/doc/arc/state-laws-chart-1.pdf〕 * Attorney's fee cap - attorney fees that are taken from the amount of the settlement are limited. The plaintiff’s attorneys cannot receive more than 40% of the first $50,000 recovered; 33-1/3% of the next $50,000 recovered; 25% of the next $500,000 recovered; and 15% of any amount recovered in excess of $600,000. Recovered “means the net sum recovered after deducting any disbursements or costs incurred in connection with prosecution or settlement of the claim….the attorney’s office-overhead costs or charges are not deductible costs for such purpose.”〔California Business and Professions Code Section 6146, http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=bpc&group=06001-07000&file=6146-6149.5〕 * Time limits - shortened statute of limitations for actions against healthcare providers. * Binding arbitration. * Periodic payments - doctors are allowed to pay the award over time. These are codified at a number of different locations in the California Codes: Business & Professions Code Section 6146, Civil Code Sections 3333.1 and 3333.2, and Code of Civil Procedure Section 667.7. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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