California Personal Injury Law 2026: Survival Damages and MICRA Caps
"What changes to California survival action damages and MICRA malpractice caps take effect in 2026?"
California Personal Injury Law in 2026: Survival Damages and MICRA Malpractice Caps
The landscape surrounding California personal injury law shifts again in 2026. For many accident victims and families, these changes can influence the strength, timing, and value of a personal injury claim. The most significant updates involve the damages available in two major areas: survival action damages and medical malpractice claims under MICRA.
Survival Actions Return to Pre-2022 Limits
One of the most consequential changes involves California survival actions. These are claims asserted by a deceased individual’s estate for harms the decedent suffered before death. In 2021, the State Legislature enacted Senate Bill 447, which temporarily expanded potential recovery in survival actions by allowing noneconomic damages such as pain, suffering, and disfigurement. This temporary expansion took effect in January 2022, and for the last few years, led to larger verdicts and settlements in cases where victims experienced significant suffering prior to passing away.
The expansion was originally set to expire in 2026 and legislators introduced SB 29 to extend it through to January 1, 2027. However, the extension effort failed after being lobbied against by the medical industry, who contended that the bill would conflict with MICRA’s updated legislation from 2022 (discussed below). As a result, California will return to its traditional rule: survival actions will be limited to economic damages such as medical bills and lost income, along with punitive damages in rare cases. While legislators could attempt to introduce new bills to retain this recovery expansion in the future, eligible plaintiffs seeking noneconomic damages for their deceased loved one’s pain, suffering, and disfigurement must file these claims before the statutory window closes.
Ongoing MICRA Reforms Increase Malpractice Damage Caps
Survival-action damages are not the only area in flux; California medical malpractice law is continuing to undergo its long-term overhaul under MICRA’s 10-year reform framework. In 2022, the State Legislature overhauled California’s MICRA cap limit with Assembly Bill 35, raising the cap on non-economic damages to $350,000 for non-fatal medical malpractice cases, and $500,000 for wrongful death cases.
By 2026, malpractice claims will be several years into this framework, so patients and families alleging malpractice against hospitals, clinics, or medical offices have access to higher ceilings for these kinds of damages than they did before. Effective January 1, 2026, the cap on non-economic damages for non-fatal medical malpractice cases will be $470,000 and will increase by $40,000 each year until it reaches a limit of $750,000 in 2033. Meanwhile, the cap on wrongful death cases will be $650,000 and will increase by $50,000 each year until it reaches a limit of $1,000,000 in 2033.
While these changes may seem small on paper, they can translate into large swings in case value. Speaking with a California personal injury attorney who follows these 2026 changes can help you evaluate deadlines, pursue the proper categories of damages, and file under the most favorable rules still available.
If you have questions about how California’s 2026 changes to survival action damages or MICRA malpractice caps may affect your case, contact Dolan Law Firm for a free consultation:
https://www.dolanlawfirm.com/contact/
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