The doctrine treats the lost chance itself as the compensable injury, typically awarding a percentage of full damages corresponding to the probability reduction. It applies where the plaintiff's baseline prospects were already poor.
It is distinct from treating increased risk as establishing full causation.
Alternative Names:
Lost Chance Doctrine, Loss of Opportunity
Why it Matters?
Proportional valuation is what distinguishes this doctrine from increased risk theories, since a plaintiff whose survival probability fell from forty to ten percent recovers thirty percent of full damages rather than everything or nothing. That structure appeals to courts uncomfortable with both traditional causation's harshness and full recovery on a minority probability. Which approach a state takes materially changes case value in delayed diagnosis litigation.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
How are loss of chance damages calculated?
Why do courts adopt it?
