Medical malpractice is defined as the failure of providing correct care by a medical practitioner which results in the injury or death of a patient. In the US, a study (Bono, et. al., 2022) underscored that 1 in 3 clinicians or attending specialist are sued throughout their practice. In a study by Seabury et. al. (2022), they highlight that more than 40,000 physicians covered by an insurance, 11% of these physicians have ongoing malpractice claim in their 40-year career. What this means is that the prevalence of medical practice is more common that one thinks it is.
During What Stage Do Medical Malpractice Occur?
According to the National Library of Medicine, a study published online by Tehrani et. al. (2022) revealed that out of the 305,706 paid claims that they have analyzed for their research, diagnostic errors were high up in the reasons why patients file for medical malpractice. It accounts for 28.6% of paid claims. The study further emphasized that these diagnostic errors resulted in death and major and minor permanent injuries.
As per the same research, more diagnostic errors occur in outpatient services as compared to inpatient services. This could be due to poor supervision and limited allotted time for follow-up, among many factors, which in contrast with inpatient care which is 24/7, allows for close monitoring and readily available laboratory results.
Medical Malpractice Statistics by US State
The National Practitioner Data Bank revealed that California leads the race in the highest medical malpractice payment report from the 1990 until 2025. The rest of the numbers are highlighted in the map below.
| State | Medical Malpractice Payment Report |
| California | 57,806 |
| Texas | 31,150 |
| Florida | 41,527 |
| New York | 32,871 |
| Pennsylvania | 36,530 |
| Ohio | 16,584 |
| Michigan | 21,406 |
| Illinois | 19,887 |
| Arizona | 8,881 |
| New Jersey | 24,260 |
| Washington | 9,256 |
| Virginia | 7,449 |
| Louisiana | 11,046 |
| Colorado | 5,952 |
| Oklahoma | 5,479 |
| North Carolina | 7,325 |
| Missouri | 9,146 |
| Indiana | 10,289 |
| Alabama | 2,866 |
| Tennessee | 6,563 |
| Georgia | 11,212 |
| Massachusetts | 11,714 |
| Maryland | 10,003 |
| Oregon | 4,337 |
| Kentucky | 6,070 |
| Minnesota | 3,624 |
| Wisconsin | 3,864 |
| Mississippi | 3,680 |
| South Carolina | 5,571 |
| Arkansas | 2,631 |
| Kansas | 6,142 |
| Connecticut | 6,212 |
| Nevada | 3,576 |
| Iowa | 3,778 |
| Utah | 4,103 |
| West Virginia | 4,479 |
| Nebraska | 2,513 |
| New Mexico | 4,591 |
| Maine | 1,613 |
| Puerto Rico | 7,179 |
| New Hampshire | 2,150 |
| Rhode Island | 2,248 |
| Montana | 2,033 |
| Vermont | 913 |
| Delaware | 1,266 |
| Idaho | 1,411 |
| Alaska | 816 |
| North Dakota | 696 |
| Wyoming | 794 |
| South Dakota | 925 |
| District of Columbia | 1,702 |
| Hawaii | 1,424 |
| Other Territories | 113 |
Preventive Measures for Medical Malpractice
Since a high number of medical malpractices occur during outpatient diagnostic process, it is better to exhaust all measures necessary for the clinician to diagnose patients accurately. However, since the numbers also reveal a stark reality that 1 in 3 medical practitioners get sued throughout their career, it is essential to have a medical malpractice insurance or known also as Medical Professional Liability (MPL) insurance.
In medical malpractice, the lives of patients are at stake. While the healthcare industry is bombarded with social and political issues that most often than not, limit people’s access to healthcare, proper and correct diagnosis for care and service delivery is of utmost importance.
References
Bono, M. J., Wermuth, H. R., & Hipskind, J. E. (2022, October 31). Medical malpractice. StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470573/
Saber Tehrani AS, Lee H, Mathews SC, Shore A, Makary MA, Pronovost PJ, Newman-Toker DE. 25-Year summary of US malpractice claims for diagnostic errors 1986-2010: an analysis from the National Practitioner Data Bank. BMJ Qual Saf. 2013 Aug;22(8):672-80. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2012-001550. Epub 2013 Apr 22. PMID: 23610443.
Seabury, S. A., Chandra, A., Lakdawalla, D. N., & Jena, A. B. (2013). On average, physicians spend nearly 11 percent of their 40-Year careers with an open, unresolved malpractice claim. Health Affairs, 32(1), 111–119. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2012.0967
The NPDB – Data Analysis Tool. (n.d.). http://npdb.hrsa.gov/analysistool/
