Iowa medical malpractice law
In Iowa, 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
Iowa rules at a glance
Work out your deadline- Filing deadline
- 2 years from when the injury was discovered
- Damage caps
- $250,000 per occurrence, unless the jury…
- Before you file
- An expert's sign-off on the claim
- Shared fault
- Modified comparative (51% bar)
Full Iowa law guidedeadlines, caps, children, experts and sources
Example: treatment and discovery six months ago
- TreatmentMay 7, 2026
- Likely deadlineMay 7, 2028
- Outer limitMay 7, 2032
- 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 most6 yearsafter the treatment, with a few exceptions
- Pain and sufferingCapped at $250,000
- All damages togetherNo overall cap
The rules in Iowa
Filing deadline
2 years
Counted from when the injury was discovered. File within 2 years of when you knew or reasonably should have known of the injury (or received written notice of it), and no more than 6 years after the act or omission.
Discovery rule
Applies
Yes, inside the 6-year outer limit.
Outer limit
6 years
6 years from the act or omission, unless a foreign object unintentionally left in the body caused the injury.
Iowa Code § 614.1(9)(a)
Damage caps
$250,000 per occurrence, unless the jury finds substantial or permanent loss or impairment of a bodily function, substantial disfigurement, loss of pregnancy or death, in which case up to $1,000,000, or $2,000,000 if a hospital is a defendant. No cap where a defendant acted with actual malice.
Iowa's 2023 law caps non-economic damages against health care providers per occurrence. The limits rise 2.1 percent a year starting January 1, 2028; the amount in effect at the time of the occurrence applies.
- Wrongful death
- Death qualifies for the higher $1,000,000 (or $2,000,000 with a hospital) limit.
Children
Different clock
A child who was under 8 when the act happened must sue by the tenth birthday or within the adult deadline, whichever is later.
Affidavit of merit
Required
Within 60 days of the defendant's answer and before discovery, serve a certificate of merit affidavit signed by a qualified expert on the standard of care and its breach.
Iowa Code § 147.140
Notice before suing
Not required
No pre-suit notice requirement.
Shared fault
Modified comparative (51% bar)
Modified comparative fault: barred above 50% of the fault
Experts
Expert evidence
The expert must be licensed, practicing or teaching in the same or a substantially similar field, and board certified in the same or a similar specialty if the defendant is (Iowa Code § 147.139).
The 2023 caps apply to causes of action accruing on or after February 16, 2023; earlier claims fall under the prior law.
Sources
- Iowa Code § 614.1 (2026), Iowa Legislature
- Iowa Code § 147.136A (2026), Iowa Legislature
- Iowa Code § 147.140 (2026), Iowa Legislature
- 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.
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 Connecticut (2026)
- Best Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Delaware (2026)
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