Medical malpractice in North Carolina
Last checked Aug 15, 2026 · LawyerUnc editorial. Educational only, not legal advice.
Elements
1
Provider-patient relationship
The defendant undertook to treat the patient.
2
Standard of care
What a reasonably careful similar provider would have done under similar circumstances.
3
Breach
The care fell below that standard.
4
Causation and injury
The breach more likely than not caused a compensable injury, not merely a bad outcome.
Burden of proof
Preponderance of the evidence, usually with expert testimony on the standard of care.
A North Carolina fact pattern
Medical malpractice in north-carolina.
Statute of limitations
3 years
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-15(c)
From the last act of the defendant. If the injury was not apparent, one year from discovery, but not less than three years.
Repose: 4 years.
- Four-year outer wall from the last act in ordinary malpractice. Foreign object: one year from discovery, ten-year outer wall.