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 apply Vermont's fault rule, including a 2024 carve-out that removes fault entirely for certain claims.
A 51% bar that favors the claimant at the exact threshold
Under 12 V.S.A. § 1036, Vermont bars recovery only when a claimant's negligence is greater than the combined causal negligence of the defendants — at exactly 50% fault, a claimant still recovers half of their damages. Vermont also uses several, not joint and several, liability for negligence claims: where more than one defendant is found liable, each pays only their own proportionate share of the total award.
A 2024 law that removes fault entirely for some claims
Act 90, signed into law on April 22, 2024, amended § 1036 to add a significant carve-out: contributory and comparative negligence are now prohibited as a defense in a negligence claim relating to a sexual act or sexual conduct. A sexual assault survivor can no longer be found partially at fault for their own injuries in this type of claim — lawmakers passed the law in direct response to a case where a jury had reduced a victim's recovery by assigning them partial fault.
No cap on malpractice damages at all
Vermont currently has no statutory cap on economic, noneconomic, or punitive damages in medical malpractice cases — one of only a handful of states with no cap whatsoever. A jury that hears a malpractice case is free to award whatever amount it finds the evidence supports.