Virginia hospitals have a reputation for being some of the safest in the nation. Unfortunately, mistakes still happen, and the ramifications can cause catastrophic personal injuries or even negligence-induced deaths. If you were the victim of a medical mistake that caused a devastating injury, you will likely be planning to pursue a medical malpractice claim.
As in most states, Virginia has specific laws that govern these claims, including ceilings or cap limits on damages that may be awarded. Below, we explain how those limits work and what you can do to receive the compensation you need to recover and move forward with your life.
Our Virginia Beach medical malpractice attorneys have extensive experience handling complex medical malpractice claims. We have practiced only Virginia personal injury law since 1985 and have been named a “Best Law Firm” every year since 2010. We will use our resources to conduct a complete investigation of your case and stand up to aggressive insurance carriers and medical providers to ensure you come out ahead.
What is a Ceiling, Cap, or Limit on Damages?
States enact legal limits to ostensibly “control insurance costs,” prevent “outrageous” jury awards, and encourage the parties to negotiate settlements. A cap or limit refers to a legal threshold on the amount of money you, as the plaintiff, may receive as compensation in the medical malpractice lawsuit.
In some states, these caps or limits are imposed only on non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life. That is not the case in Virginia, however.
What Does Virginia Law Say About Medical Malpractice Award Ceilings or Limits?
Virginia’s cap on medical malpractice damages is considered more limiting than in other states because it is a universal cap. (The cap is outlined in Virginia Code 8.01-581.15.) That means it applies to all damages—not just non-economic ones. Virginia puts a cap on all damages cumulatively, meaning the total amount you can recover is limited.
This is important because economic damages are very clear-cut. These include your medical bills, lost wages, and loss of earning capacity. You may have evidence of all these expenses in your documentation—and be justified in claiming them—but if they go over Virginia’s cap, you may not be able to recover all those damages.
The limit also applies to all defendants together. If you have multiple defendants in your case—such as the doctor and the medical establishment he or she was working for—you may imagine that the cap would apply to each defendant separately, but that’s not true. It applies to all defendants together.
What is the Medical Malpractice Cap in Virginia?
Virginia’s cap on medical malpractice claims changes depending on when the act of malpractice occurred. Note that the legally relevant date is not when the case was filed or the verdict reached but when you, as the plaintiff, were injured.
Between August 1, 1999, and June 30, 2000, for example, the cap was $1.50 million. That amount has increased every year and stands at $2.65 million for the period of July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025. Virginia law allows for the amount to continue to increase and has set those amounts all the way through June 30, 2031 (when the limit will be $2.95 million).
The law further provides for acts of malpractice that occur on or after July 1, 2031, limiting the total amount recoverable to no more than $3 million.
Your medical malpractice attorney may sue for higher than the cap, but if the jury agrees and awards the injured plaintiff more money than the applicable ceiling or cap, the defendants will file a motion for the judge to reduce the award to the state’s legal limit, and the judge must reduce the verdict accordingly.
The Virginia Trial Lawyers Association (VTLA) contends that the cap or ceiling law violates the U.S. Constitution’s Seventh Amendment, which states:
“In suits at common law, where the value in controversy exceeds $20, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved…”
Because personal injury suits, including medical malpractice claims, existed as common law in England before the U.S. Constitution was enacted, the VTLA argues that a cap or ceiling in a state law is unconstitutional. In fact, many states have struck down ceilings or caps just like the Virginia one. Unfortunately, the Virginia Supreme Court has at least twice ruled that the cap or ceiling is constitutional, rejecting the argument that it violates the Seventh Amendment.
An Exception for Assisted Living Facilities
It is important to note that medical malpractice claims against assisted living facilities (which are different than “nursing homes” in Virginia) are not subject to the cap. They operate under different regulations than traditional healthcare providers, which means that injured victims may be able to recover higher amounts. Liability in nursing homes, however, is subject to the cap.
There are several reasons for this. For one, there was a precedent set in 1990 when the Virginia Supreme Court held in the decision of Commercial Distributors v. Blankenship that assisted living facilities were not subject to the medical malpractice cap. That provided an interpretation of the law that eliminated caps on compensatory damages (punitive damages are subject to a $350,000 limit).
Another reason is that assisted living facilities do more than provide direct medical care. They also help with daily living activities, such as bathing, dressing, and making meals. This puts them in a different category than hospitals or nursing homes. They are also governed by regulations that focus on safety and care quality.
Because of that, victims and their medical malpractice attorneys can bring general negligence claims against these facilities rather than strictly medical malpractice claims. The facility may not have provided adequate care or allowed unsafe living conditions to exist. With claims like these, a plaintiff can pursue full compensation for all damages without cap or ceiling restrictions.
How Can a Personal Injury Attorney Help?
If you were seriously injured in Virginia because of a medical mistake, oversight, or plain negligence, contact us today for a free initial consultation. With over 100 years of combined legal experience, we understand how to navigate the legal system so that you can receive the highest amount of compensation possible, as we did for this client who was the victim of a failure to diagnose a stroke. The jury returned a $3.5 million verdict, though because of the cap, that verdict was later reduced to $2 million.
We can help you with offices in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Hampton, and Norfolk.
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