The goal of a personal injury case is to set the clock back and undo the harm the injuries caused you. Economic damages can be repaid; physical pain or scarring cannot be reversed, but you get money damages for the harm. With damage caps, you might not be able to be fully compensated.
Fortunately, California law does not place damage caps on these “compensatory damages” for most injuries. There is no cap on punitive damages, either. However, there is one core exception where there is a cap: pain and suffering and other “non-economic damages” are capped in medical malpractice cases.
For help with your injury case, call the California personal injury attorneys at the Law Office of John J. Perlstein today at (213) 252-1070.
What Types of Damages Are There?
In a personal injury case, the following types of damages are usually involved:
Compensatory Damages
“Compensatory damages” are the ones that pay you back – i.e., compensate you – for harms you faced. This includes both the economic and physical, mental, and emotional harms you face.
Punitive Damages
Other damages do not pay you back, but instead punish the victim. These are called “punitive damages,” “exemplary damages,” or “non-compensatory damages.”
Economic Damages
These damages are there to pay for monetary harm – things like bills and expenses the injury caused you. This includes most of the damages you can claim in your injury case, such as
- Medical bills
- Therapy bills (physical, occupational, mental health, etc.)
- Medication costs
- The costs of making your home more accessible for a disability
- Vehicle repair bills
- Other property damage amounts
- Bills for replacement services around the house
- Childcare costs.
Other names include specific damages, since each one has a specific cost, or pecuniary damages.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-Economic damages pay you back for the harms that have no monetary amount set. This generally includes
- Physical pain
- Mental suffering
- Emotional distress
- Mental anguish
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Lost ability
- Lost enjoyment of life
These are also called “general damages” since they flow generally from all injuries. The term “pain and suffering” is also sometimes used interchangeably with “non-economic damages.”
Damage Caps on Personal Injury Cases in California
In general, there is no cap on any of these damages for personal injury cases, but there is one exception.
No Compensatory Damage Caps
That means that for a basic car accident, slip and fall, dog bite, product injury case, etc., you will not face caps on the damages to pay you back for injuries. Our Los Angeles personal injury lawyers can then claim as much as we need to to see that you are paid back for your injuries.
There is only one exception for some compensatory damages, which is discussed below
No Economic Damage Caps
Economic damages are not capped in any case. You can claim any expenses related to the accident at their reasonable value. Usually, for things like medical care, the amount actually charged is considered reasonable unless they overbilled you excessively for some reason.
Exceptions where amounts are deemed “unreasonable” are rare, but may be common with things like funeral and burial expenses, where extravagant expenses will not be covered.
Non-Economic Damage Caps for Medical Malpractice Only
For most injury cases, there is no cap on non-economic damages. That means you can claim as much as you need to for pain and suffering, emotional distress, etc.
The exception is medical malpractice cases, where the non-economic damages are capped at different amounts for wrongful death and regular injury cases.
As of January 1, 2026, the cap is
- $470,000 for injury cases
- $650,000 for wrongful death.
California’s MICRA Caps on Medical Malpractice (AB-35 of 2022)
For a long time, California capped medical malpractice’s non-economic damages at $250,000. That was the cap for both injury and death cases.
Current Rule
In 2022, a law was signed to increase the cap to $350,000 for injury from medical malpractice and $500,000 for wrongful death from malpractice, starting on January 1, 2023. Then, the cap would increase by $40,000 for injury and $50,000 for death every year on January 1.
On January 1, 2027, they will increase to
- $510,000 for injury cases
- $700,000 for wrongful death.
Future Rule
By 2033, this cap will max out at $750,000 for injury and $1 million for wrongful death, then increase for inflation at 2% each year.
What this means, in practice, is that you should check with your lawyer if you have a medical malpractice case to understand what cap applies based on the year of injury and recovery.
Punitive Damage Caps
Although California has no specific punitive damage caps, they are still practically capped under federal case law. Generally speaking, punitive damages are compared to compensatory damages (the ones that pay you back for injuries and harm) and cannot exceed a 10 to 1 ratio without being unreasonable.
FAQs for Damage Caps in California
How Do You Know if Your Injury Case Has Caps?
California has no caps on most injury cases, so you can rest assured that you have no caps for car accidents, slip and falls, etc. The only exception is medical malpractice cases, which have no cap on economic damages, but do cap non-economic damages.
What is a Damage Cap?
Caps are merely limits set by law, saying that your damages cannot go over a certain amount. California only uses them in narrow situations.
Does California Law Allow Damage Caps?
Yes, but we only use them for non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases. Some state constitutions ban damage caps, but California’s does not do this.
Are There Other Limitations?
While you can claim as much in damages as you need, there are four common practical limits on your damages:
- You can only claim damages that actually happened to you, not unreasonably speculative or hypothetical damages.
- You can only claim damages you can supply proof of.
- You can only get paid damages the defendant can afford.
- Insurance policies often have a policy limit, and they will not pay more than that. Any additional funds typically come from your underinsured motorist insurance (in car accident cases) or from the defendant out of pocket.
Call Our California Personal Injury Attorneys Today
For help with your case, call the Law Office of John J. Perlstein’s Orange County, CA personal injury attorneys at (213) 252-1070.