Statute of Limitations |
Medical Claim Generally:No action “shall be brought but within two years from the date when the injury is first sustained or discovered or in the exercise of reasonable care should have been discovered, and except that no such action may be brought more than three years from the date of the act or omission complained of, except that a counterclaim may be interposed in any such action any time before the pleadings in such action are finally closed” [CGS § 52-584] Minors:Connecticut does not have a separate statute of limitations for minors. Wrongful death:The statute of limitations for wrongful death claims is also two years. |
Damage Caps |
Connecticut currently has no damage caps as long as they are not excessive [CGS §52-228] |
Attorney Fee Caps |
There are statutory limitations on attorney fees determined by a percent of the amount recovered. However, the cap can be waived “if the claim or civil action is so substantially complex, unique or different from other wrongful death, personal injury or property damage claims or civil actions as to warrant a deviation from such percentage limitations” [CGS §52-251] |
Pre-suit Requirements |
Certificate: “The complaint, initial pleading or apportionment complaint shall contain a certificate of the attorney or party filing the action or apportionment complaint that such reasonable inquiry gave rise to a good faith belief that grounds exist for an action against each named defendant or for an apportionment complaint against each named apportionment defendant.” Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-190a(a) (2023). “To show the existence of such good faith, the claimant or the claimant’s attorney, and any apportionment complainant or the apportionment complainant’s attorney, shall obtain a written and signed opinion of a similar health care provider, as defined in section 52-184c, which similar health care provider shall be selected pursuant to the provisions of said section, that there appears to be evidence of medical negligence and includes a detailed basis for the formation of such opinion.” Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52190a(a) (2023). |
Expert Qualifications |
“If the defendant health care provider is not certified by the appropriate American board as being a specialist, is not trained and experienced in a medical specialty, or does not hold himself out as a specialist, a “similar health care provider” is one who: (1) Is licensed by the appropriate regulatory agency of this state or another state requiring the same or greater qualifications; and (2) is trained and experienced in the same discipline or school of practice and such training and experience shall be as a result of the active involvement in the practice or teaching of medicine within the five-year period before the incident giving rise to the claim. If the defendant health care provider is certified by the appropriate American board as a specialist, is trained and experienced in a medical specialty, or holds himself out as a specialist, a ‘similar health care provider’ is one who: (1) Is trained and experienced in the same specialty; and (2) is certified by the appropriate American board in the same specialty; provided if the defendant health care provider is providing treatment or diagnosis for a condition which is not within his specialty, a specialist trained in the treatment or diagnosis for that condition shall be considered a “similar health care provider” [CGS §52-184] |
Negligent Credentialing Claims |
Connecticut has not definitively established negligent credentialing as a cause of action. |
