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★ North Dakota · medical negligence

Medical negligence settlements
in North Dakota.

By 9 min read

North Dakota caps malpractice pain and suffering at $500,000, and in 2019 the Supreme Court upheld the cap. A new mother who suffered a stroke after an artery was injured during a biopsy saw $1.5 million in noneconomic damages cut down to that figure.

Facts that decide a medical negligence claim in North Dakota

Noneconomic capTotal noneconomic damages for a health care malpractice claim “may not exceed five hundred thousand dollars, regardless of the number of health care providers and other defendants.”N.D.C.C. § 32-42-02, as quoted in Condon v. St. Alexius Medical Center (N.D. 2019)
The jury is not toldJuries are not informed of the cap; the court reduces the award afterwards.N.D.C.C. § 32-42-02, as quoted in Condon
ConstitutionalityThe $500,000 cap is constitutional; an earlier $300,000 cap had been struck down in Arneson v. Olson.Condon v. St. Alexius Medical Center (N.D. 2019)
Fault ruleModified comparative fault: a claimant whose fault is as great as the combined fault of all other persons recovers nothing; a smaller share reduces the award.N.D.C.C. § 32-03.2-02, applied in Duma v. Keena (N.D. 2004) and Moore v. Fargo Public School District (N.D. 2012)
★ band · US federal frame
$30,000 to statutory cap
Medical negligence (non-fatal)
State medical-malpractice cap as in force on the date of injury

The US band is the starting point. North Dakota's fault rule and any applicable cap then adjust the figure.

united states · sister site
Your medical negligence claim in North Dakota. See the number for your own case.

The range above is a starting point. FairSettlement gives you a free estimate for your own medical negligence case in about two minutes, no cost and no obligation.

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★ ND · reported medical negligence outcomes

What North Dakota courts have awarded.

Real North Dakota decisions and verdicts, each linked to the court record or official report.

  • Condon v. St. Alexius Medical Center
    North Dakota Supreme Court · 2019
    $1.5 million noneconomic award reduced to the $500,000 cap

    Hours after giving birth in 2012, Chenille Condon had chest discomfort and shortness of breath, and tests found nodules in her mediastinum. During a mediastinoscopy to take a tissue sample, her right innominate artery was injured, causing life threatening bleeding; after repair she had a stroke and needed months of rehabilitation. The jury awarded $265,000 in past and $1.735 million in future economic loss and $1.5 million in noneconomic loss. The trial court held the cap unconstitutional, but the Supreme Court reversed that ruling and ordered the noneconomic award reduced.

★ ND · medical negligence · in practice

What changes the number here.

What actually moves a medical negligence settlement in North Dakota.

  1. 1

    Economic damages are where a large malpractice recovery comes from in North Dakota. Condon’s future economic loss of $1.735 million was outside the cap.

  2. 2

    Build the economic case in detail. Lost earning capacity, future care and rehabilitation are proven with life care planners and economists, not left to the jury’s sympathy.

  3. 3

    Expect the cap to apply across all defendants together, however many providers are sued.

★ ND · statute of limitations
6 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpractice

N.D. Cent. Code § 28-01-16, § 28-01-18

★ ND · fault rule
Modified comparative, 50% bar

Modified comparative, recovery barred at 50% claimant fault.

★ ND · caps

What caps recovery.

Statutory caps that may bear on a medical negligence settlement in North Dakota.

★ medical negligence · same region & fault regime

Compare to like jurisdictions.

How North Dakota's fault rule and limitation period compare to jurisdictions in the same US region and to those running the same fault rule for medical negligence claims.

JurisdictionFault ruleLimitationMedical negligence page
North Dakota · you are hereModified comparative, 50% bar6 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpractice—
OhioModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryOH · medical negligence →
South DakotaSlight versus gross negligence3 years from date of injurySD · medical negligence →
WisconsinModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injuryWI · medical negligence →
IllinoisModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryIL · medical negligence →
IndianaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryIN · medical negligence →
IowaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryIA · medical negligence →
TennesseeModified comparative, 50% bar1 year from date of injury, among the shortest in the USTN · medical negligence →
UtahModified comparative, 50% bar4 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeUT · medical negligence →
ArkansasModified comparative, 50% bar3 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeAR · medical negligence →
ColoradoModified comparative, 50% bar2 years for personal injury; 3 years for motor vehicleCO · medical negligence →
OklahomaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryOK · medical negligence →
OregonModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryOR · medical negligence →
★ ND · medical negligence · frequently asked

Common questions.

Each answer is independently coherent and references the relevant statute or authority document.

Sources

Checked 2026-09-29. Every figure on this page comes from one of these documents.

★ all of ND
North Dakota overview

Fault rule, statute, caps, and key facts for North Dakota as a whole.

★ federal frame
Medical negligence in United States

Medical negligence band structure and severity tiers at the US level.

★ all 15 countries
Medical negligence · everywhere

Cross-jurisdiction comparison of medical negligence bands.

★ editorial note

Figures on this page are starting points: the US band adjusted for North Dakota's statutory framework. They are not quotes for any specific case. For representation, consult an attorney admitted in North Dakota. See /methodology, /sources, and /disclaimer.