States With Caps on Pain & Suffering Damages
Minnesota is one of the states that leaves pain and suffering open-ended, including in malpractice and wrongful death cases.
No cap against private defendants
Minnesota has no caps on damages for personal injury or wrongful death, and no cap in medical liability cases. The wrongful death statute, Minn. Stat. 573.02, authorizes whatever the jury deems fair and just.
Where the limit is: the government
Claims against the state or a municipality are limited to $500,000 per claimant and $1,500,000 for any number of claims arising from a single occurrence, for occurrences on or after July 1, 2009. The state is also immune from punitive damages. The limit applies to total damages, not only pain and suffering.
A threshold, not a ceiling, for car accidents
Minnesota's no-fault law doesn't cap noneconomic damages; it conditions them. Under Minn. Stat. 65B.51, you need more than $4,000 in medical expenses, or a permanent injury, permanent disfigurement, death, or 60 or more days of disability. Once the threshold is met there is no statutory cap.
The real limit is fault
With no ceiling to worry about, the main constraint is the fault rule in Minn. Stat. 604.01. Your fault is compared with each defendant's, and if it is greater than a defendant's you can't recover from that defendant at all.
A local personal injury attorney can review your claim — many offer a free consultation.
This is general information, not legal advice, and the state comparisons above are illustrative, not an exhaustive survey. Confirm the current rule in any state with a licensed attorney there.