We analyzed recent data from the National Practitioner Data Bank, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, and the Health Resources and Services Administration to find the most useful statistics on medical malpractice in the United States.
U.S. Medical Malpractice Statistics
In 2017, the Department of Health and Human Resources received more than 49,000 reports of medical malpractice in the United States.
In 2005, less than 25 percent of trials over medical malpractice yielded a win for the plaintiff.
In 2005, jury trials over medical malpractice yielded fairly high awards when it came to median damages. At $400,000, these awards were 17 times larger than the median damages awarded in tort jury trials. The fact that claims of wrongful death were made in 40 percent of jury trials over medical malpractice in which the plaintiff prevailed may partially explain these significant awards.
Medical Malpractice Statistics by State
In 2017, 986 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Alabama.
In 2017, 133 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Alaska.
In 2017, 1,223 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Arizona.
In 2017, 761 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Arkansas.
In 2017, 4,293 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in California.
In 2017, 1,853 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Colorado.
In 2017, 332 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Connecticut.
In 2017, 250 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Delaware.
In 2017, 3,334 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Florida.
In 2017, 612 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Georgia.
In 2017, 43 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Hawaii.
In 2017, 164 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Idaho.
In 2017, 1,548 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Illinois.
In 2017, 967 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Indiana.
In 2017, 420 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Iowa.
In 2017, 328 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Kansas.
In 2017, 703 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Kentucky.
In 2017, 1,311 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Louisiana.
In 2017, 332 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Maine.
In 2017, 1,026 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Maryland.
In 2017, 774 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Massachusetts.
In 2017, 1,786 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Michigan.
In 2017, 803 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Minnesota.
In 2017, 491 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Mississippi.
In 2017, 1,301 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Missouri.
In 2017, 68 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Montana.
In 2017, 465 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Nebraska.
In 2017, 365 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Nevada.
In 2017, 199 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in New Hampshire.
In 2017, 894 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in New Jersey.
In 2017, 170 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in New Mexico.
In 2017, 1,446 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in New York.
In 2017, 904 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in North Carolina.
In 2017, 173 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in North Dakota.
In 2017, 2,677 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Ohio.
In 2017, 1,152 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Oklahoma.
In 2017, 1,069 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Oregon.
In 2017, 2,008 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Pennsylvania.
In 2017, 85 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Rhode Island.
In 2017, 543 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in South Carolina.
In 2017, 124 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in South Dakota.
In 2017, 1,304 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Tennessee.
In 2017, 4,708 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Texas.
In 2017, 447 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Utah.
In 2017, 157 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Vermont.
In 2017, 1,544 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Virginia.
In 2017, 1,548 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Washington.
In 2017, 30 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Washington, D.C.
In 2017, 361 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in West Virginia.
In 2017, 532 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Wisconsin.
In 2017, 193 claims involving medical malpractice were filed in Wyoming.
