Medical malpractice cases have the potential to draw considerable attention and public scrutiny. Plaintiffs may be seeking huge sums of money; allegations can sound very serious; reputations and professional licensing can be at stake.
Understandably, medical malpractice claims can be highly emotional. But to get a comprehensive look at these cases, we must look directly at the numbers.
Important medical malpractice statistics
According to numbers from NiceRX, New York residents filed more medical malpractice lawsuits than any other state between 2012-2022, with nearly 16,000 cases. This equates to about 19 cases per 10,000 residents.
For the outcomes of these claims, we can look at data from the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), where we can see that between 2012 and 2022 in New York:
- Most medical malpractice claim settlements or judgments were between $100,000 and $249,999.
- The most common action type affected practitioners’ state licensures and certifications.
- The vast majority of reports (12,184) involved a physician (MD).
- The next most common practitioner type category was dentists (1,946 claims).
- There were more medical malpractice payments submitted than adverse actions against healthcare providers.
This information shows how costly these claims could be and the toll they can take on providers in New York. That said, we can also see that the extremes we often read about in the news – cases involving serious negligence or misconduct and cases with multi-million-dollar payouts – are not the norm.
Important takeaways
Statistics can paint a high-level picture of medical malpractice claims across New York, but the fact is that at the heart of each of these claims are patients and professionals with a lot on the line.
As such, those involved in these cases must work to tackle the specific details of a claim, utilizing tools and strategies that can help parties pursue the desired outcome.
Generally, medical malpractice claims are not black-and-white or all-or-nothing. Working with legal counsel can help you assess all options and remedies available if you are facing legal claims or professional penalties.
