In Salgado v. County of Los Angeles (1998) 19 Cal.4th 629, the court held that the damages cap applies whether noneconomic damages sustained in a medical malpractice case are paid out in a lump sum or periodically as permitted by Code of Civil Procedure section 667.7, and that the plaintiff was entitled to the same amount under either payment option. (Salgado, supra, 19 Cal.4th at p. 640.) As is more pertinent here, the court explained that the damages cap "places no limit on the amount of injury sustained by the plaintiff, as assessed by the trier of fact, but only on the amount of defendant's liability therefor." (Ibid.) The court further explained that the cap "does not reflect a legislative determination that a person injured as a result of medical malpractice does not suffer" noneconomic damages, but rather represents "an attempt to control and reduce medical malpractice insurance costs by placing a predictable, uniform limit on the defendant's liability for noneconomic damages." (Id. at p. 641.)