In Stinnett v. Tam, the California Court of Appeals held that that Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act’s $250,000 cap on non-economic damages was constitutional. Holly Stinnett sued, among others, Tony Tam, M.D. and Modesto Surgical Associates, for the wrongful death of her husband due to professional negligence. The jury awarded $6,000,000 in non-economic damages to Stinnett. The trial court, applying California Civil Code section 3333.2 reduced the damages to $250,000. Stinnett appealed, arguing that the reduction of her non-economic damages constituted: (1) a violation of her right to equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and by article I, section 7, subdivision (a) of the California Constitution; and (2) a violation of her right to a jury trial under article I, section 16 of the California Constitution. The Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, rejected her claims and affirmed the trial court’s ruling.
Opponents of the ruling hope that the California Supreme Court will reverse the ruling, or that that California Legislature will repeal or amend the statute, which many considered outdated.

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