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Medical Professional Liability State Profile:

District of Columbia

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CME Requirements

Credit Amount
Washington, D.C., requires 50 hours of CME credits per license renewal cycle. First-time license renewals have no CME requirements.

Licensure Cycle 
Biennial

Topics

All CME hours must be AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ with the following topical requirements: five hours of public health priorities CME, two hours of LGBTQ cultural competency CME, one hour of CME on the subject of pharmacology. 
  • As part of the 2018 renewal process, physicians, physician assistants, and nurses must complete three hours in the subject of HIV/AIDS, two hours in the subject of LGBTQ cultural competency, and at least one course in the subject of pharmacology.


Washington, D.C., CME requirements listed above were accurate when posted, but CME requirements change frequently. Due to COVID-19, certain licensure requirements may have been modified. Physicians are advised to confirm the District’s current requirements with the District of Columbia Board of Medicine. 

Prejudgment and Post-Judgment Interest

Prejudgment Tort Actions Rate: Prejudgment interest is neither authorized nor forbidden by statute. However, a court may award interest, in its discretion, if needed to make the plaintiff whole.  
  • Duggan v. Keto, 554 A.2d 1126 (DC 1989); Burke v. Groover, Christie & Merritt, P.C., 26 A.3d 292 (DC 2011) 
Post-Judgment Tort Actions Rate: If not specified by contract, “70% of the rate of interest set by the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to section 6621 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 ... rounded to the nearest full percent, or if exactly 1/2 of 1%, increased to the next highest full percent; provided, that a court of competent jurisdiction may lower the rate of interest under this subsection for good cause shown or upon a showing that the judgment debtor in good faith is unable to pay the judgment.” Interest on judgments against the District of Columbia, or its officers/employees, is at the rate not exceeding 4%. 
  • D.C. Code Ann. § 28-3302
Post-Judgment Accrual Date: Date of judgment 
  • D.C. Code Ann. § 15-109; Bell v. Westinghouse Elec. Co., 507 A.2d 548 (DC 1986) 

 

One Party or All Party Consent

Washington, D.C., is a one-party state. 

In Washington, D.C., it is a criminal offense to use any device to record communications whether wire, oral, or electronic, without the consent of at least one person taking part in the communication. There is a caveat in that recording is allowed to take place if there is no reasonable expectation of privacy, such as a public place such as a street or park. It should also be noted that the law is applied differently on recordings of audio, video, and audio with video. D.C. Code Ann. § 23-542 

Tort Laws

Limits on damages for pain and suffering: None 

Limits on contingent attorney fees: None
 
Reform of collateral source rule: None 

Periodic payment of future damages: None 

Statute of limitations: Three years from discovery 
  • D.C. Code Ann. § 12-301
 

Abortion Law

Abortion is protected in Washington, D.C.