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 North Dakota's malpractice cap, if it applies, and against the state's fault rule.
A strict 50% bar — an exact tie bars recovery
Under N.D.C.C. § 32-03.2-02, a claimant whose fault equals or exceeds the combined fault of everyone else involved recovers nothing at all. This is the stricter version of the modified comparative rule — a 50/50 split bars recovery entirely, unlike states that only bar recovery once fault exceeds 50%.
A flat $500,000 malpractice cap — not adjusted for inflation
North Dakota caps noneconomic damages in a medical malpractice claim at $500,000 under N.D.C.C. § 32-42-02. Unlike many states, this figure is flat and hasn't been adjusted for inflation since it was set in 1995 — following an earlier, broader $300,000 cap on all damages that the state's courts struck down as unconstitutional in 1978. Economic damages remain fully uncapped.
A 2025 attempt to raise the cap — and its failure
A bill introduced in the 2025 legislative session, House Bill 1349, would have raised the cap — as amended, to $1,000,000 (down from an original proposal of $3,000,000) — and would have eliminated the cap entirely in malpractice claims involving an unborn fetus. The bill failed on a House floor vote of 30 to 61 in February 2025. The $500,000 figure described above remains current law.