Medical Malpractice Damages Calculator — All
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Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider's treatment falls below the accepted standard of care and causes injury. Four elements must be proven: (1) a duty of care existed (a patient-provider relationship); (2) the provider breached the standard of care — meaning a competent provider in the same specialty would have acted differently; (3) the breach caused the patient's injury; and (4) the injury resulted in damages. Common examples include misdiagnosis, surgical errors, medication mistakes, failure to obtain informed consent, and birth injuries.

A certificate of merit (also called an affidavit of merit or expert certificate) is a document required in many states before a medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed. It requires an expert — usually a licensed physician in the same or similar specialty — to review the case and certify that the claim has merit and that the defendant's care fell below the standard. States requiring certificates include California, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Failure to file the certificate within the required time frame (often 90 days of filing) can result in dismissal of the case.

About 30 states cap non-economic damages (pain and suffering) in medical malpractice cases. Caps range from $250,000 in California (though a 2023 referendum raised it to $350,000 for non-death cases and $500,000 for death cases) to $2 million+ in some states. Several states have unconstitutional cap rulings — courts in Georgia, Illinois, and Florida have struck down caps as violations of the right to jury trial or equal protection. Economic damages (medical bills, lost income) are generally not capped. Punitive damages in med-mal cases are available in most states but subject to separate caps.

The statute of limitations for medical malpractice is typically 2–3 years from the date of the negligent act or, under the discovery rule, from when the patient knew or should have known of the injury. Many states have an absolute outer limit (a 'statute of repose') — often 6–10 years — beyond which no claim can be filed regardless of when the injury was discovered. Special rules apply to foreign objects left in the body, minors (the clock often doesn't start until they turn 18), and fraud concealment. States with 1-year limits include California for healthcare providers who are hospital employees.

Yes, in virtually all medical malpractice cases. An expert witness — typically a physician in the same or related specialty — must testify about the standard of care, how the defendant deviated from it, and how that deviation caused the plaintiff's injury. Without expert testimony, courts will generally grant summary judgment for the defense. The cost of expert witnesses is one reason med-mal cases are expensive: experts typically charge $300–$750 per hour for review and $500–$1,000+ per hour for deposition and trial testimony. Cases with multiple experts can cost $50,000–$200,000 to take to trial.