Washington Medical Malpractice Funding

Washington medical malpractice claims must be filed within three years of the act or omission, or within one year of the date the plaintiff discovered or reasonably should have discovered that the injury was caused by the act, whichever is later, under RCW 4.16.350. An eight-year statute of repose runs from the act; the repose is tolled for proof of fraud, intentional concealment, or a foreign body not intended to remain in the patient, and in those cases the claim may be brought within one year of discovery. A minor's claim is tolled under RCW 4.16.190. Washington has no certificate-of-merit requirement: the former requirement in RCW 7.70.150 was held unconstitutional in Putman v. Wenatchee Valley Medical Center, 166 Wn.2d 974 (2009), as an infringement on the court's rulemaking authority and access to the courts, and the statute was formally repealed in 2023. Washington also has no presuit notice period. Under RCW 7.70.100, med-mal claims are subject to mandatory mediation before trial, and claims against public hospital districts and state university medical centers require a tort claim filing under RCW 4.96.020 or RCW 4.92.100 before suit.

Pure comparative fault under RCW 4.22.005. A Washington med-mal plaintiff's recovery is reduced in proportion to the plaintiff's own fault but is not barred at any percentage. Under RCW 4.22.070, liability among multiple defendants is several rather than joint unless the plaintiff is fault-free, in which case defendants against whom judgment is entered are jointly and severally liable.

Washington has no cap on non-economic or economic damages in medical malpractice. The statutory cap on non-economic damages in RCW 4.56.250 was struck down in Sofie v. Fibreboard Corp., 112 Wn.2d 636 (1989), where the Supreme Court of Washington held that a legislative limit on a jury's damages determination violates the right to trial by jury under article I, section 21 of the Washington Constitution. The holding applies to all personal injury actions, including health care claims under chapter 7.70 RCW. Punitive damages are not available under Washington law absent express statutory authorization, and none exists for medical malpractice. Damages against public hospitals are not capped but are subject to the claim-filing prerequisites of RCW 4.96.020.

Washington does not award prejudgment interest on unliquidated personal injury damages. Under RCW 4.56.110, interest on a tort judgment runs from the date of entry of judgment; where a verdict is later affirmed on appeal, interest runs from the date of the verdict. Prejudgment interest is available only on liquidated sums fixed as of a date certain, which in a med-mal case may include paid medical expenses in some circumstances. Post-judgment interest on tort judgments accrues at the rate set in RCW 4.56.110(3)(b), tied to the 26-week Treasury bill plus two percent.

Under RCW 4.12.020, a med-mal action may be filed in the county where the injury occurred or in the county of the defendant's residence, at the plaintiff's election. Under RCW 4.12.025, a corporate defendant may also be sued where it transacts business or where the alleged malpractice occurred. Claims against public hospital districts are filed after the RCW 4.96.020 claim period runs, and claims against University of Washington medical centers after the RCW 4.92.100 state claim process.

Washington has no dedicated consumer litigation funding statute. No statutory cap.

How does Sofie affect the value of a Washington med-mal claim for funding?

Sofie struck the non-economic damages cap in 1989 on state constitutional grounds, and no cap has been enacted since. Washington med-mal damages are limited only by the evidence and remittitur, so catastrophic injury and wrongful death claims are underwritten on the full documented loss.

The decision rested on article I, section 21's jury-trial guarantee, which makes a future statutory cap unlikely without a constitutional amendment. Punitive damages remain unavailable, which is the one limit that does apply. Several liability under RCW 4.22.070 is the more important structural factor: where the plaintiff is partly at fault, each defendant pays only its own share.

What does the absence of a certificate-of-merit requirement mean in Washington?

Since Putman and the 2023 repeal of RCW 7.70.150, a Washington med-mal complaint can be filed without an expert affidavit. That lowers the filing barrier, but the claim still requires expert testimony to prove the standard of care and causation, so underwriting asks counsel to confirm a qualified expert supports the theory.

The practical difference is timing: the expert opinion surfaces in discovery rather than at filing. Funders therefore weigh the retained expert's credentials and preliminary opinion more heavily in Washington than in states where a filed affidavit already exists. Mandatory mediation under RCW 7.70.100 provides a structured settlement opportunity before trial that shapes the expected duration.

How do the three-year and one-year discovery periods work together?

RCW 4.16.350 gives the later of three years from the act or one year from discovery, with an eight-year repose. A patient who discovers the injury in year five still has one year to sue; one who discovers it in year nine is barred unless fraud, concealment, or a foreign body tolls the repose.

The discovery trigger is when the plaintiff knew or should have known that the injury was caused by the act, not merely that an injury occurred. Because the repose is tolled rather than merely extended in the three exception scenarios, a concealment case can remain viable long after eight years. Underwriting confirms the accrual analysis and any tolling theory before advancing.