North Dakota: Where It Stands Among States With Fee Caps

A reasonableness-only state for personal injury fees

Compare North Dakota to a state like New York, which applies a hard statutory sliding scale to medical malpractice attorney fees specifically. North Dakota has no equivalent figure anywhere in its rules for any type of personal injury claim, including malpractice — the fee simply must be reasonable under Rule 1.5, assessed case by case.

Two separate things that sound related but aren't

It's worth being clear that North Dakota's medical malpractice damages cap — a flat $500,000 on noneconomic damages — has nothing to do with attorney fees. That cap limits what a patient can recover from a health care provider; the attorney's own percentage fee remains governed entirely by Rule 1.5's reasonableness standard, untouched by whatever the damages cap happens to be in a given case.

A real cap, but only for workers' comp

North Dakota's one genuine statutory fee cap sits in a different corner of the law entirely: workers' compensation attorney fees are capped at 20% of the amount awarded under N.D.C.C. § 65-02-08. This is a completely separate framework from personal injury contingency fees, worth distinguishing clearly if a case involves both a workplace injury and a third-party personal injury claim arising from the same incident.

A damages cap that stands out for staying still

While this page focuses on fees rather than damages, it's worth noting that North Dakota's malpractice damages cap is itself unusual: $500,000 since 1995, with no inflation adjustment, unlike many comparably capped states that raise their figures automatically every few years. A 2025 bill to raise it failed, leaving the flat figure in place for now.

North Dakota's fee structure — frequently asked questions

Does North Dakota cap attorney fees in medical malpractice cases the way some states do?

No. Unlike states that write a specific percentage ceiling into statute for malpractice fees, North Dakota applies only the general Rule 1.5 reasonableness standard, with no fixed cap at all — even though it does cap malpractice damages themselves.

Does North Dakota's malpractice damages cap affect what an attorney can charge?

No. The damages cap under N.D.C.C. 32-42-02 limits what a patient can recover from a health care provider — it has no bearing on the attorney's own fee percentage, which remains governed by Rule 1.5 alone.

How does North Dakota's workers' comp fee cap compare to its personal injury approach?

They're entirely different regimes. Workers' compensation fees are capped by statute at 20%, while personal injury fees have no percentage ceiling at all, governed only by Rule 1.5's general reasonableness standard.

Is North Dakota's uncapped approach to personal injury fees typical among states?

It's one of two common approaches nationally. Many states rely on a general reasonableness standard for personal injury contingency fees, while others, particularly for medical malpractice, write a specific percentage ceiling into statute.

Is North Dakota's malpractice damages cap unusual among states with caps?

Yes — its $500,000 figure has stayed flat since 1995 with no inflation adjustment, while many other capped states automatically raise their figures every few years, a distinction worth knowing even though it concerns damages rather than fees.

This page provides general guidance only and is not legal advice. Figures are based on Rule 1.5 of the North Dakota Rules of Professional Conduct and N.D.C.C. §§ 65-02-08 and 32-42-02, verified per our methodology. Confirm how current rules apply to a specific claim with a licensed attorney in the relevant state before acting.