Supporters of a proposed ballot initiative to lift, and in some cases eliminate, California's $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases, kicked off their signature-gathering campaign in Sacramento on Monday.

The event marked the start of what could be a five-month-long, multimillion-dollar marathon to gather more than 623,000 valid signatures to put the measure before voters in November 2020.

"We're going to change things because it's the right thing to do," said plaintiffs lawyer Nicholas Rowley, a partner at Carpenter Zuckerman & Rowley who is spearheading the campaign with Santa Monica-based Consumer Watchdog.