Medistill Tools
Free lookup for all 50 states + DC. Non-economic and total damage caps, standard SOL, discovery rule, statute of repose, minor exceptions, wrongful death deadlines, and the statute citation. Refreshed 2026.
Med-mal attorneys use Medistill for the next layer: state-specific verdict distributions, closed claims studies by specialty, NPDB-derived settlement bands, expert-witness rosters and Daubert history, and 150+ compliance sources per provider. Free 50 credits to start.
A damage cap is a statutory limit on what an injured patient can recover in a medical malpractice lawsuit. Most caps limit non-economic damages (pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment) while leaving economic damages (medical bills, lost wages) uncapped. A handful of states cap total damages. Some state constitutions prohibit damage caps entirely. Cap amounts and applicability change frequently as legislatures pass tort reform and courts rule on constitutionality.
As of 2026: Connecticut, Delaware, DC, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont have no caps enacted. Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Washington have had caps struck down by their state supreme courts as unconstitutional. Arizona, Arkansas, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming have state constitutional prohibitions on damage caps.
The statute of limitations (SOL) is the deadline by which a plaintiff must file a medical malpractice lawsuit. Most states require filing within 1 to 3 years of either the negligent act or the patient's discovery of the injury (whichever rule applies). Many states also have a statute of repose, which is an absolute outer deadline that applies regardless of when the injury was discovered.
The discovery rule extends the filing deadline to begin when the patient knew or reasonably should have known of the injury and its cause, rather than when the negligent act occurred. This matters when an injury is not immediately apparent (cancer misdiagnosis, foreign objects, slow-developing complications). Some states have broad discovery rules; others have limited or no discovery rule and start the clock at the act itself.
Most states toll (pause) the statute of limitations during a minor's childhood. The specifics vary widely: some states extend the deadline to the child's 8th birthday, others to age 18 plus the standard SOL period. Statutes of repose may still cap the outer deadline even for minors. Nevada removed minor tolling for medical malpractice entirely in 2023.
Data was refreshed May 2026 and incorporates recent legislative changes including California's MICRA reform (AB 35), Colorado HB 24-1472, Iowa HF 161, Louisiana Act 423 (2024), Montana HB 195 (2025), Minnesota SF 3489 (2025), Missouri HB 68 (2025), Utah HB 288 (2025), New Mexico HB 99 (2026), and others. Laws change frequently; always verify against current statute before relying on a deadline.
Beyond the free lookup: Medistill plaintiff attorneys pull a venue intelligence packet on any state (damage cap + SOL + recent verdict distribution + closed claims data + Daubert history) before deciding whether to take a case or where to file. Defense attorneys pull the same data to model exposure and inform settlement strategy. Sign up free at medistill.ai/signup to access the full med-mal workflow.
This tool is informational. It is not legal advice. Damage caps and statute of limitations periods change frequently. Always verify against current statute and consult a licensed attorney before relying on a deadline. Data refreshed May 2026.