Connecticut medical malpractice law
In Connecticut, you generally have 2 years to file a medical malpractice claim from the day the injury was discovered. Caps and rules for 2026.
Sources checked
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Your deadline: 2 years from when you found out
Connecticut rules at a glance
Work out your deadline- Filing deadline
- 2 years from when the injury was discovered
- Damage caps
- No cap
- Before you file
- An expert's sign-off on the claim
- Shared fault
- Modified comparative (51% bar)
Full Connecticut law guidedeadlines, caps, children, experts and sources
Example: treatment and discovery six months ago
- TreatmentMay 7, 2026
- Likely deadlineMay 7, 2028
- Outer limitMay 7, 2029
- The clock startsWhen you found out, or should have
- Time to start a claim2 yearsMiss it and the claim is usually lost.
- At the very most3 yearsafter the treatment, with a few exceptions
- Pain and sufferingNo cap
- All damages togetherNo overall cap
The rules in Connecticut
Filing deadline
2 years
Counted from when the injury was discovered. File within 2 years from when the injury is first sustained or discovered (or reasonably should have been), and no more than 3 years from the act or omission.
Discovery rule
Applies
Yes, within the 3-year outer limit. Courts also pause the clock during a continuing course of treatment for the same condition.
Outer limit
3 years
No claim more than 3 years after the act or omission, subject to the continuing-treatment and fraudulent-concealment doctrines.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-584
Children
Different clock
Connecticut generally does not pause these deadlines for children. A parent or guardian should act within the normal 2-year and 3-year limits.
Affidavit of merit
Required
The complaint must include a good-faith certificate and a written, signed opinion of a similar health care provider that there appears to be evidence of medical negligence, with a detailed basis. Missing it is grounds for dismissal.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-190a
Notice before suing
Not required
No notice requirement, but petitioning the court clerk gives an automatic 90-day extension of the deadline to complete the required inquiry.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-190a(b)
Shared fault
Modified comparative (51% bar)
Modified comparative fault: barred above 50% of the fault
Experts
Expert evidence
The opinion and testimony must come from a "similar health care provider" as defined in Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-184c, generally trained and certified in the same specialty.
Because children's claims are not tolled, birth injury and pediatric cases in Connecticut are time-sensitive. Contingency fees are on a statutory sliding scale (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-251c).
Sources
- Connecticut General Statutes § 52-584, Connecticut General Assembly
- Connecticut General Statutes § 52-190a, Connecticut General Assembly
- Connecticut Medical Malpractice Laws and Statutory Rules, AllLaw (Nolo)
- State Enactments of Selected Medical Liability Reforms (as of 8/27/2026), Medical Professional Liability Association
- Contributory Negligence/Comparative Fault Laws in All 50 States (updated 6/10/2026), Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C.
- Medical Liability/Malpractice Merit Affidavits and Expert Witnesses, National Conference of State Legislatures
Other states
- Best Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Alabama (2026)
- Best Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Alaska (2026)
- Best Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Arizona (2026)
- Best Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Arkansas (2026)
- Best Medical Malpractice Lawyers in California (2026)
- Best Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Colorado (2026)
- Best Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Delaware (2026)
- Best Medical Malpractice Lawyers in District of Columbia (2026)
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