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Medical Malpractice Trials and Verdicts in Large Counties, 2001

By Thomas H. Cohen, J.D., Ph.D. BJS Statistician

Of the 1,156 medical malpractice trials litigated in the Nation's 75 most populous counties during 2001, most were disposed of by jury trial (96%). In an estimated 9 out of 10 medical malpractice trials, the alleged harm involved either a permanent injury (57%) or a death claim (33%).

About half of the sampled medical malpractice trials were brought against surgeons, while a third were against nonsurgeons. Dentists accounted for 5% of medical malpractice defendants.

Medical malpractice trials with nonsurgeons had the highest estimated percentage of injuries involving a death claim (43%). Death claims arose in 30% of trials with a surgeon defendant.

The overall win rate for medical malpractice plaintiffs (27%) was about half of that found among plaintiffs in all tort trials (52%). Plaintiffs prevailed in nearly 39% of trials against dentist defendants and in about a quarter of trials against nonsurgeon (23%) and surgeon (27%) defendants.

The median award of $425,000 in medical malpractice trials was nearly 16 times greater than the overall median award in all tort trials ($27,000). Median award amounts were higher among plaintiffs who won malpractice trials against medical doctors, both surgeons ($575,000) and nonsurgeons ($511,000), than against dentists ($53,000).

Plaintiff winners were awarded $1 million or more in approximately a third of medical malpractice trials brought against nonsurgeon and surgeon defendants.

The type of injury giving rise to the medical malpractice trial also had an impact on damage awards. Median award amounts for medical malpractice trials arising from death claims ($837,000) and permanent injuries ($412,000) were higher than the median awards for medical malpractice trials that stemmed from temporary injuries ($77,000).

The number of medical malpractice jury trials since 1992 has remained stable as the reported differences were not statistically significant. Since 1992 the percentage of plaintiff winners ranged from 22% to 30%.

After remaining stable in 1992 and 1996, the median amount awarded in jury trials to plaintiff winners increased from $287,000 in 1996 to $431,000 in 2001. The percentage of plaintiff winners receiving awards of $1 million or more also rose from an estimated 25% in 1992 and 1996 to 32% in 2001.

Punitive damages remained rare in medical malpractice jury trials. From 1992 to 2001, 1% to 4% of plaintiff winners in medical malpractice jury trials received punitive damages. The median punitive damage awards for medical malpractice jury trials in two of the three study periods (1992 and 2001) were around $250,000.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice

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