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Alaska Medical Liability/Malpractice Statutes of Limitation

All states have set deadlines for when a patient may file a civil claim, known as statutes of limitation, for medical liability and malpractice claims. The majority of the states have special provisions regarding the time limits for minors to file medical liability and malpractice claims. Twenty-two states have special provisions regarding foreign objects.

Alaska Stat. §09.10.070 and §09.10.140 Two years from discovery of injury. Minors under age 8: the time period before the person's eighth birthday is not a part of the time limit imposed.

Alaska Medical Liability/Medical Malpractice Laws

Damage Award Limit or Cap

§09.55.549. Noneconomic damages limited to $250,000; limited to $400,000 for wrongful death or injury over 70 percent disabling; limits not applicable to intentional or reckless acts or omissions.

§9.17.020. Punitive damages limited to the greater of three times the amount of compensatory damages or $500,000. Except as provided, if the conduct was motivated by financial gain and the adverse consequences of the conduct were actually known by the defendant or the person responsible for making policy decisions on behalf of the defendant, it may award an amount of punitive damages not to exceed the greatest of (1) four times the amount of compensatory damages awarded to the plaintiff in the action; (2) four times the aggregate amount of financial gain that the defendant received as a result of the defendant's misconduct; or (3) the sum of $7,000,000.

Limits on Attorney Fees

§09.60.080. If an attorney contracts for or collects a contingency fee in connection with an action for personal injury, death, or property damage and the damages awarded by a court or jury include an award of punitive damages, the contingent fee due the attorney shall be calculated before that portion of punitive damages due the state under AS 09.17.020(j) has been deducted from the total award of damages.

Periodic Payments

§09.55.548. Permitted for future damages, including damages for future medical treatment, care or custody, loss of future earnings, or loss of bodily function of the claimant.

§09.17.040. Procedure for periodic payments. Payments may be modified only in the event of the death of the judgment creditor, in which case payments may not be reduced or terminated, but shall be paid to persons to whom the judgment creditor owed a duty of support, as provided by law, immediately before death. In the event the judgment creditor owed no duty of support to dependents at the time of the judgment creditor's death, the money remaining shall be distributed in accordance with a will of the deceased judgment creditor accepted into probate or under the intestate laws of the state if the deceased had no will.

Patient Compensation or Injury Fund

None provided.

Medical or Peer Review Panels

§18.23.005 et seq. Medical review organizations