Medical Malpractice Laws in Wyoming (2026): Deadlines & Caps

Medical malpractice in Wyoming is a claim that a doctor, hospital, nurse, or other licensed health care provider departed from the accepted standard of care and harmed a patient. Wyoming has no cap on malpractice damages against private providers because the state constitution bars damage caps, although a claim against a governmental entity for a provider it employs is limited to $1,000,000 under the Wyoming Governmental Claims Act, and a major procedural step changed when the state repealed its medical review panel in 2022. This page explains the current deadlines, the no-cap status, and the pre-suit landscape under Wyoming law. It is general legal information, not legal advice for your situation.

Statute of Limitations in Wyoming

Under Wyo. Stat. 1-3-107, a claim arising from an act, error, or omission in rendering professional or health care services must generally be brought within two years of the act, error, or omission. A claimant may instead file within two years after discovery if the claimant can establish that the act, error, or omission was not reasonably discoverable within the original two-year period despite due diligence.

The statute also provides a short extension. Under Wyo. Stat. 1-3-107(a)(iv), if the malpractice is discovered during the second year of the original two-year period, the time to file is extended by six months. Because the discovery analysis is fact-specific, it is best confirmed with a licensed Wyoming attorney.

No General Statute of Repose

Wyoming's current medical malpractice limitations statute does not contain a separate statute of repose or a fixed absolute outer deadline beyond the two-year period and the discovery rule. Latent injuries, including a foreign object left in the body, are handled through the general discovery rule rather than a distinct foreign-object statute.

This means the main timing questions in a Wyoming case turn on when the claim accrued and whether the discovery rule applies, rather than on a separate repose cutoff. The absence of a stated outer ceiling makes the accrual date especially important.

Deadlines for Minors

Wyoming's statute once set a special, shortened limitations rule for minors, but the Wyoming Supreme Court held that provision unconstitutional. In Kordus v. Montes, 2014 WY 146, 337 P.3d 1138, the court held that the minor limitations provision in Wyo. Stat. 1-3-107(a)(ii), and the related health-care carve-out, violated the open-courts guarantee in Article 1, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.

Because the special minor rule was struck down, claims by injured children fall back under Wyoming's general tolling principles for minors. The exact deadline for a child's claim should be confirmed with counsel, since it differs from the adult two-year rule.

Damage Caps in Wyoming: None

Wyoming has no cap on medical malpractice damages, and it cannot enact one without amending its constitution. Article 10, Section 4(a) of the Wyoming Constitution states that no law shall be enacted limiting the amount of damages to be recovered for causing the injury or death of any person.

This constitutional bar applies to economic damages, noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering, and wrongful-death damages. Juries in Wyoming may award damages against a private provider without a legislative ceiling, which makes Wyoming one of the states where no cap applies.

One important limit sits outside that rule. When the defendant is a governmental entity sued for the malpractice of a physician, physician assistant, nurse, optometrist, or dentist it employs, Wyo. Stat. 1-39-110(b) provides that the entity's liability shall not exceed $1,000,000 to any claimant for any number of claims arising out of a single transaction or occurrence, nor exceed $1,000,000 for all claims of all claimants arising out of a single transaction or occurrence. That limit reaches county and state hospitals, providers serving state institutions and county jails, and contract providers deemed public employees under Wyo. Stat. 35-31-101 through 35-31-103.

The Medical Review Panel Was Repealed

For years, Wyoming required a claim to go through a medical review panel before suit could be filed, under statutes including the former Wyo. Stat. 9-2-1518. That requirement no longer exists. The Wyoming Legislature repealed the medical review panel act through 2021 House Bill 195, enacted as Chapter 99 of the 2021 session laws, effective July 1, 2022.

As a result, a patient today files a medical malpractice action directly in district court without a mandatory pre-suit panel review. The panel continued only to finish claims that had already been filed with it before the repeal took effect, and it does not screen new cases. The Wyoming Constitution still permits the Legislature to create a panel in the future under Article 10, Section 4(b), but none is currently in force.

No Certificate of Merit or Pre-Suit Screening

Wyoming does not require a certificate or affidavit of merit before filing a medical malpractice case. With the medical review panel repealed, there is currently no statutory pre-suit screening step for malpractice claims at all.

This does not lower the proof burden at trial. A plaintiff still must prove the case with admissible evidence, which in most malpractice cases means qualified expert testimony, even though no expert paperwork is required before filing.

Standard of Care, Liable Parties, and Expert Testimony

Wyoming sets the standard of care by statute. Under Wyo. Stat. 1-12-601(a), a plaintiff alleging negligence by a health care provider must prove that a defendant certified by a national certificating board or association failed to act in accordance with the standard of care adhered to by that national board or association, or, if the defendant is not so certified, that the defendant failed to act in accordance with the standard of care adhered to by health care providers in good standing performing similar health care services. Under subsection (b), variations in theory of medical practice or localized circumstances regarding the availability of equipment, facilities, or supplies may be shown to contravene proof offered on the applicable standard of care. The plaintiff must also prove that the failure caused the injury.

Physicians, hospitals and medical facilities, nurses, and other licensed or certified health care providers can be defendants, and a facility may be liable for the conduct of its employees.

Because these questions turn on medical judgment, expert testimony is generally required to establish both the standard of care and causation. The narrow exception is a case so obvious that a layperson could recognize the negligence. Claims against government-employed providers or public facilities are handled under the Wyoming Governmental Claims Act (Wyo. Stat. 1-39-109 and 1-39-110), which has its own notice and procedural rules and, under Wyo. Stat. 1-39-110(b), limits the governmental entity's liability to $1,000,000 to any claimant and $1,000,000 for all claimants arising out of a single occurrence.

Comparative Negligence in Wyoming

Wyoming follows modified comparative negligence under Wyo. Stat. 1-1-109. A patient who is partly at fault can still recover, but the award is reduced by the patient's percentage of fault, and a patient whose fault is more than 50% of the total fault recovers nothing.

In practice, a patient who is 50% or less at fault can recover a reduced amount, while a patient who is 51% or more at fault is barred. A defense argument that the patient ignored medical instructions or delayed follow-up care can reduce or eliminate recovery.

Wrongful-Death Medical Malpractice

When alleged malpractice causes death, a claim may be brought under Wyoming's wrongful-death statutes, Wyo. Stat. 1-38-101 to 1-38-103. Under Wyo. Stat. 1-38-102, the action is brought by the decedent's wrongful-death representative for the benefit of the statutory beneficiaries, and it must be commenced within two years after the death.

This two-year wrongful-death deadline runs from the date of death and can differ from the timeline in an injury case. Because no constitutional damage cap applies, wrongful-death damages are not subject to a statutory ceiling either, unless the defendant is a governmental entity, in which case the $1,000,000 limit in Wyo. Stat. 1-39-110(b) applies.

How to Evaluate and Preserve a Possible Claim

If you suspect malpractice in Wyoming, request and preserve complete medical records promptly and write down the timeline of events, because those dates drive the deadline analysis. The two-year limit and the discovery rule are strict, and pinning down the accrual date matters because there is no separate repose period to fall back on.

Most Wyoming medical malpractice attorneys offer a free initial consultation and work on a contingency-fee basis, meaning a fee is owed only if the case recovers money. No attorney can guarantee an outcome or a dollar amount; the value of any case depends on the specific facts, the evidence, and how a court applies the law. Consult a licensed Wyoming attorney to evaluate the specific facts and deadlines in your situation.