LA Times, "Commentary: Damage Cap Adds Insult to Injuries; State law cheats less-affluent victims of medical malpractice"

After hearing all the evidence, a San Diego jury ruled that 2-year-old Steven Olsen's lost sight and cerebral functions were worth $7.1 million. But unbeknown to the jurors, their medical malpractice ruling later would be cut to $250,000 -- the "pain and suffering" cap that was set by the California Legislature in 1975 and that always overrides a jury's judgment. Now President Bush wants to adopt this little-known standard for injured patients across the nation, and California's dirty little legal secret could become America's nightmare.

The jury in Steven's case found that the boy would have been fine had the admitting doctor given him the $800 CT scan that his parents repeatedly requested. Steven had been impaled with a stick and was rubbing his head, but he was sent away with a growing brain abscess under the managed-care ethos that less is more. The Olsen family received an additional $1.9 million in "economic damages" for Steven's lifetime of lost wages, medical care, attendant care, special education and living assistance. However, about $500,000 of that was subtracted for court costs, expensive expert witnesses and lawyer contingency fees that cannot be recovered as a part of the so-called "economic losses."