On April 26th, more than 100 UAPD members were in attendance to watch well-known plaintiff’s attorney Bruce Fagel, M.D., J.D. square off against the California Medical Association President Richard Thorp, M.D. and others during the UAPD-sponsored CME/CE entitled “Malpractice and MICRA Reform: What Every Doctor Must Know.” Dr. Fagel presented his evidence in favor of raising the cap on non-economic damages set by MICRA in 1973, while Dr. Thorp argued that doing so would have many deleterious consequences on the practice of medicine. Attorneys Erin Muellenberg and David J. Weiss presented an overview of the current malpractice climate for physicians and dentists, respectively, and offered dozens of best practices which can help doctors avoid litigation. Attendees were given the opportunity to ask questions, and to offer their own analyses of how the legal context of medicine affects care.
