Proposition 46, on medical malpractice awards, fails

Proposition 46, which would have changed California’s medical malpractice law, has failed, AP reports.

It would have raised the limit on lawsuit awards for pain and suffering from $250,000 to about $1.1 million, to account for inflation since the cap was implemented in 1975.

In addition, the measure would have required hospitals to randomly test their physicians for alcohol and drug use. Doctors also would have been tested after the occurrence of certain medical mistakes or any events that caused a patient’s death or serious disability.

Impaired physicians would have been subject to disciplinary action, including possible suspension of licenses.

A third component of the measure would have required doctors, when prescribing certain medications, to check a state database of patients’ other prescriptions to help prevent drug abuse.

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