It has been reported that the total medical malpractice payouts in the United States reached $3.95 billion in 2015, which was an increase of 1.68% from 2014. The Northeast region of the United States accounted for 45.93% of all medical malpractice payouts in the United States in 2015, which was an increase of 0.08% from 2014.

The Northeast

The Northeast region had a per-capita rate of medical malpractice payouts in the amount of $28.42 in 2015, which was almost three times the per-capita rate of medical malpractice payouts in other regions of the United States. New York had the highest per-capita medical malpractice payout ($35.95), as well as the highest total medical malpractice payouts ($712 million, which was 18% of the total medical malpractice payouts throughout the United States in 2015), a distinction it has held for at least the last five years. Nonetheless, New York experienced a 4.2% decrease in medical malpractice payouts in 2015, compared to 2014.

Pennsylvania had the second highest total medical malpractice payouts in 2015: $374 million. New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Maryland were all in the top ten U.S. states for total medical malpractice payouts in 2015. Massachusetts had the second-highest per-capita medical malpractice payouts in 2015: $30.18. Pennsylvania ranked number three in per-capita medical malpractice payouts in 2015: $29.21.

The Midwest

The Midwest region of the United States had the largest increase in total medical malpractice payouts in 2015: 6.05%. Of all U.S. states, North Dakota and Minnesota had the largest percentage increases in medical malpractice payouts in 2015: 265% and 163%, respectively. Illinois led the Midwest region in total medical malpractice payouts ($258 million), had the highest per-capita rate of medical malpractice payouts in the Midwest region ($20.08), and had the largest dollar-value increase in medical malpractice payouts in the United States in 2015 ($49.7 million). The Midwest represented 16.81% of total U.S. medical malpractice payouts in 2015 and ranked second in per-capita rate of medical malpractice payouts ($9.79).

The South

The South was the only region that experienced a decrease in total medical malpractice payouts in the United States in 2015 (0.62% decrease). Alabama’s total medical malpractice payouts fell by 56.4% ($26.1 million decrease). Texas also experienced a decrease of 23.7% ($23.4 million) and had a $2.74 per-capita rate of medical malpractice payouts in 2015. However, West Virginia had a 65.3% increase in total medical malpractice payouts in 2015, which represents a per-capita rate of $27.22 (more than double the rate than any other southern state and ranking fifth in the United States). Florida had the largest total medical malpractice payouts in the South in 2015 ($248.9 million), which represents a 14.3% increase from 2014. The South represented 22.8% of total U.S. medical malpractice payouts in 2015 and had an overall per-capita rate of $7.69.

The West

With regard to the Western region of the United States, it had the second-largest increase in total medical malpractice payouts in the United States in 2015 (5.54%) but also the lowest per-capita rate in the United States: $7.89. California had total medical malpractice payouts in the amount of $263.8 million in 2015 (California was in the top ten), but its per-capita rate was only $6.74. The Western region represented 15.18% of total medical malpractice payouts in the United States in 2015.

Other Medical Malpractice Payout Statistics

Females represented 52% of the total medical malpractice payouts made in the United States in 2015. Thirty-six percent of those receiving medical malpractice payouts in 2015 were between the ages of 40 and 59. Forty-seven percent involved inpatient care while 39% involved outpatient care. Thirty-one percent of the total medical malpractice payouts involved allegations of misdiagnosis; 23% involved surgery. The highest medical malpractice payouts involved brain damage, quadriplegia, and lifetime care, and averaged $1.1 million. Death claims accounted for 30% of all medical malpractice payouts.

The analysis was based on data from the National Practitioner Data Bank.

Source

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