How this estimate is built
Your medical expenses and lost wages are your economic damages. We apply the multiplier method, the industry-standard approach, to estimate noneconomic damages — then check the result against New Mexico's malpractice cap, if it applies.
Pure comparative fault: fault reduces, never bars
New Mexico adopted pure comparative negligence judicially in Scott v. Rizzo (1981), abandoning contributory negligence as a complete bar. Your own fault reduces your damages in direct proportion to your percentage of fault, but never bars recovery entirely — even at 90% fault, you still recover the remaining 10%.
A genuinely two-track medical malpractice cap
New Mexico's Medical Malpractice Act sets different caps depending on the type of provider. For hospitals and non-independent facilities, the cap follows a schedule set in 2021 that reaches $6,000,000 for 2026. For independent providers — urgent care clinics, ambulatory surgical centers, and freestanding emergency rooms not controlled by a hospital — a 2023 law fixed the cap at $1,000,000 starting in 2024, adjusted annually for inflation since. Both caps exclude punitive damages and past or future medical care costs, which are paid separately and uncapped.
A live legislative debate right now
A bill introduced in the 2026 legislative session, House Bill 107, would reset the cap to a flat $600,000 for all providers — rolling back the increases enacted since 2021 — while also adding new, separate caps on punitive damages. As of this writing, that bill remains pending and has not become law; the two-track caps described above remain in effect.