Medical malpractice in District of Columbia
No private compensatory cap
District of Columbia medical malpractice claims against health care providers generally must give at least 90 days' written notice before filing. They usually must be filed within three years after the claim accrues. Private cases do not face a statutory cap on ordinary compensatory damages.
Last reviewed September 22, 2026
- Private damages cap
- None
- Notice before suit
- 90 days
- Usual filing window
- 3 years
No statutory ceiling on compensatory damages
Written notice of intention to file suit
From accrual, with a possible notice extension
Damage caps
The District does not impose a statutory ceiling on economic or noneconomic damages in a private medical malpractice lawsuit. Claims against the District government or a federal provider follow different rules and should be analyzed separately.
Not capped
Economic damages
The D.C. Code does not set a ceiling on medical expenses or lost earnings for a private medical malpractice defendant.
Not capped
Noneconomic damages
There is no statutory noneconomic medical malpractice cap for a private defendant. Do not borrow a cap from a neighboring jurisdiction for a private District case.
Care that crosses into another state can follow that state's rules. This page does not apply another state's cap to a private District claim.
Government defendants
Claims against the District of Columbia, or against a federal provider, follow different notice, limitations, and damages rules. This page does not state a dollar limit for those government or federal claims, and it does not treat them as a private-provider cap.
Filing deadlines
Serve the required 90-day notice of intention to file suit, then file within three years of accrual in most personal-injury malpractice cases. If you serve the notice during the last 90 days of the limitations period, you generally get 90 more days from that service date to start the action. A wrongful-death claim may use a different clock.
- General rule
An action for which a limitation is not otherwise specially prescribed, including a typical medical malpractice personal-injury claim, may not be brought after three years from accrual. Accrual follows discovery-rule principles: the injury and its cause are known or reasonably knowable.
- Disability
Section 12-302 may toll the period for minority, mental incapacity, or imprisonment at the time of accrual. Confirm that tolling before relying on extra time for a minor or an incapacitated plaintiff.
- Wrongful death
A wrongful-death claim may use a shorter limitations period than the ordinary three-year personal-injury clock. Treat that as a separate track and confirm it before filing.
- Notice before suit
Any person who intends to file a medical malpractice action against a health care provider shall notify the intended defendant not less than 90 days before filing. The notice must include enough information to put the defendant on notice of the legal basis of the claim and the type and extent of the loss. The court may excuse a failure to comply upon a showing of a good-faith effort to comply. The action shall not be commenced unless the section is satisfied. This research pass did not identify a certificate-of-merit statute for an ordinary Superior Court filing. Expert testimony is still generally required to prove the standard of care and causation.
If the notice is served within 90 days of the date the limitations period would expire, the time for commencement is extended 90 days from the date of service of the notice.
What cases often look like
These notes describe public legal patterns. They are not case counts, win rates, or rankings.
Notice comes before the complaint
Uncapped private damages and the mandatory 90-day notice are the District product headline. Skipping the notice can keep the case from being filed, unless the court excuses a good-faith effort.
Late notice can add 90 days
The ordinary clock is three years from accrual. Serving the notice in the last 90 days of that period generally adds 90 days from the service date.
There is no certificate-of-merit wall
The District does not require a certificate of merit with the complaint in the way some other jurisdictions do. Contested cases still generally need expert proof of the standard of care and of causation.
Payout context
Payment amounts vary by year, injury, and setting. This page does not state an average payout, a median, or a case count. To predict the payout for a District of Columbia case, use MedMalPredict AI - Medical Malpractice Outcome Prediction.
Without a private statutory noneconomic cap, ranges turn on liability proof, damages evidence, and notice compliance.
Sources
Official statute and agency pages checked September 22, 2026. First research pass on September 22, 2026. This summary still needs legal review before it is treated as legal advice. The District does not set a statutory economic or noneconomic damages cap for a private medical malpractice action. The general limitations period for an unspecified personal-injury tort is three years from accrual under D.C. Code section 12-301(8), and accrual follows discovery-rule case law. A presuit notice of intention to file suit is required at least 90 days before filing under section 16-2802. If that notice is served within the last 90 days of the limitations period, the time to commence the action is extended 90 days from service under section 16-2803. This research pass did not identify a District-wide certificate-of-merit filing statute. Expert testimony is still generally required to prove the standard of care and causation. Wrongful-death claims may use a different clock. Claims against the District government or a federal provider follow different notice, limitations, and damages rules. This page does not state those government or federal dollar limits.
- D.C. Code § 12-301 (opens in a new tab)Accessed September 22, 2026
- D.C. Code § 16-2802 (opens in a new tab)Accessed September 22, 2026
- D.C. Code § 16-2803 (opens in a new tab)Accessed September 22, 2026
Review a case with MedMalPredict
Use MedMalPredict to organize records and timelines. Speak with a District of Columbia attorney about the 90-day notice rule and the three-year filing period.