California gets new laws in 2022 that will affect personal injury cases

Accidental injury is America's number three cause of death -- you could call it our country's other, less-talked-about pandemic. According to statistics from the nonprofit National Safety Council, an American is accidentally injured every second and killed every three minutes by a preventable event, such as a vehicle crash, a fall, or a fire.

As an attorney specializing in personal injury law, I'm on the front lines of pursuing justice in the wake of these heartbreaking events. All too frequently, victims and their families suffer these unnecessary tragedies because of someone else's negligence. Yet many struggle to obtain adequate compensation for the physical, emotional and mental suffering they've endured.

Two changes to California's laws in 2022 could help ease the burden on victims and their families, and expand the legal options available to personal injury attorneys. These groundbreaking new laws -- Senate Bill 241 and Senate Bill 447 -- represent a huge win for consumers, allowing greater recovery of losses in accidental injury cases, and more timely access to the court system through remote technology.

What is SB 447?

SB 447 amends the California Code of Civil Procedure to allow a decedent's successor (such as a spouse or surviving child) or their personal representative to recover damages for the deceased person's pain, suffering, or disfigurement. This is a major departure from California's previous version of the law, which discontinued a victims' rights to noneconomic damages once they died.

The new amendment applies to claims granted a preference before Jan. 1, 2022, and to all cases filed between Jan. 1, 2022, and Jan. 1, 2026.

Why is this law important?

SB 447 brings California personal injury law into the 21st century and addresses an obvious injustice. Until now, California was one of only five states in the nation that allowed a victim's noneconomic damages to die with them. In my practice, that's meant having to tell the devastated family members of a car crash victim that they cannot claim damages for the obvious pain and suffering brought about by the sudden death of their loved one. It's meant facing the traumatized family and telling them the claim has lost much of the value and there is little I can do except recover their medical expenses.

Now, the injustice has been rectified, and a loved one's losses, not just economic damages, will actually be recoverable.

This bill passed despite vigorous opposition from the California Medical Association, which claimed the legislation would increase medical costs. Consumer Attorneys of California, a professional organization representing the interests of 39 million Californians, successfully argued that updating the law was the right thing to do.

Hopefully, the Legislature sees the wisdom and makes this law permanent.

What is SB 241?

Also known as the "California Court Efficiency Act," SB 241 modernizes access to the state's court system and addresses a pandemic-induced backlog by allowing proceedings in civil cases such as personal injury claims to be conducted via remote technology.

The Judicial Council of California had previously allowed courts to conduct operations remotely as an emergency measure in April 2020 because of the dangers posed by COVID-19. This provision was set to expire once the governor lifted the pandemic state of emergency, but SB 241 extends this allowance until July 1, 2023. Many court watchers believe the law could ultimately be extended indefinitely, making California a leader in harnessing the power of technology to make court proceedings more efficient.

Here are some key elements of the new law, as summarized by CAOC Legislative Director Nancy Peverini in a report last year:

• Courts can conduct conferences, hearings, proceedings and trials in civil cases, in whole or in part, through the use of remote technology, absent a showing by the opposing party as to why remote should not be allowed. Individual parties and expert witnesses may also appear remotely.

• The law requires the court to have a process for a party, court reporter, court interpreter, or other court personnel to alert the judicial officer of technology or audibility issues.

• The right to remote appearance is not guaranteed. The court can require a party or witness to appear in person if this is determined necessary. Conversely, the court cannot require a party to appear via remote technology.

• Amends the Code of Civil Procedure 599 to clarify that any continuance or postponement of a trial date or arbitration date automatically extends any discovery deadlines that have not already passed.

• Courts must schedule a hearing on a petition for compromise of a minor's disputed claim within 30 days from the date of filing and if the petition is unopposed the court shall issue a decision on the petition at the conclusion of the hearing.

Why is this law important?

First and foremost, SB 241 is an enormous victory for consumers whose trials have been delayed due to severe court backlogs, and who already face numerous other hurdles in getting their cases to trial. Allowing attorneys, reporters, witnesses and interpreters to use remote technology to participate in hearings and trials should expedite these vital procedures. Consumers will get justice faster, including compensation for medical bills, loss of earnings, pain, anxiety, grief, inconvenience and frustration.

An added win for consumers and their attorneys is the fact that SB 241 forces courts to adopt inexpensive technology most other businesses already utilize for remote meetings (such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc. instead of going through expensive telephonic vendors we were forced to use, courts now have the options to set up better and less expensive conferencing avenues.

Appearing remotely is also vastly more convenient for many attorneys, litigants and other parties, opening up hours of time to be more productive. The inconvenience and time associated with traveling to appearances is now minimized, unless that party chooses to be there in person.

The last two points are equally important, especially the expedition of settlements for minors. From experience, this issue has been particularly frustrating when a petition would be filed but the hearing would be held months after the actual filing. SB 241 ensures speedy processing.

The Consumers Prevail

These two laws are huge for personal injury plaintiffs. Despite massive lobbying efforts by opposition groups seeking to limit consumer rights, the tort reformer groups were resoundingly defeated. SB 447 and SB 241 represent an important step toward modernity for California's courts, and momentum building blocks for justice and equity. 