Montana medical malpractice law
In Montana, 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
Montana rules at a glance
Work out your deadline- Filing deadline
- 2 years from when the injury was discovered
- Damage caps
- $350,000 for claims first filed in 2026…
- Before you file
- Written notice before you sue
- Shared fault
- Modified comparative (51% bar)
Full Montana law guidedeadlines, caps, children, experts and sources
Example: treatment and discovery six months ago
- TreatmentMay 7, 2026
- Likely deadlineMay 7, 2028
- Outer limitMay 7, 2031
- 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 most5 yearsafter the treatment, with a few exceptions
- Pain and sufferingCapped at $350,000
- All damages togetherNo overall cap
The rules in Montana
Filing deadline
2 years
Counted from when the injury was discovered. File within 2 years of the injury or of when you discovered or reasonably should have discovered it, whichever is later, but never more than 5 years after the injury. The time is tolled while a provider fails to disclose a known error.
Discovery rule
Applies
Yes, inside the 5-year outer limit.
Outer limit
5 years
5 years from the date of injury, tolled during the provider's failure to disclose a known act, error or omission.
Mont. Code Ann. § 27-2-205(1)
Damage caps
$350,000 for claims first filed in 2026, rising to $400,000 (2027), $450,000 (2028) and $500,000 (2029), then 2 percent a year from 2030. The limit in effect when the claim is first filed with the Montana Medical Legal Panel (or in court, if not subject to the panel) applies.
Montana raised its long-standing $250,000 medical malpractice cap in 2025 to a schedule starting at $300,000.
- Wrongful death
- The same limit applies to all non-economic claims arising from injury to or death of a patient.
Children
Different clock
For a child under 4 when injured, the periods start at the eighth birthday (or death), and they are paused while the child does not live with a parent or guardian.
Affidavit of merit
Not required
No affidavit of merit; claims go to the Montana Medical Legal Panel first.
Notice before suing
Required
Claims against covered health care providers must be submitted to the Montana Medical Legal Panel before filing suit; the deadline is tolled while the panel considers the claim.
Mont. Code Ann. Title 27, ch. 6 (Montana Medical Legal Panel Act)
Shared fault
Modified comparative (51% bar)
Modified comparative fault: barred above 50% of the fault
Experts
Expert evidence
A standard-of-care expert against a physician must generally be a licensed health care provider in the same or a substantially similar specialty (Mont. Code Ann. § 26-2-601).
Montana's 2025 laws (Ch. 560 and Ch. 709, L. 2025) amended both the limitation statute and the cap.
Sources
- Montana Code Annotated § 27-2-205, Montana Legislature
- Montana Code Annotated § 25-9-411, Montana 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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