Majority Of Medical Malpractice Claims In Seven States Closed Without Compensation Payments

WASHINGTON – The majority of medical malpractice claims in a study of seven states were closed without any compensation paid to those claiming a medical injury, the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)

BJS conducted a study of medical malpractice insurance claims that were closed from 2000 through 2004 in Florida, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada and Texas. These states were identified as having comprehensive medical malpractice insurance claims databases, some of which extended back to the early 1990s. An examination of closed medical malpractice insurance claims allows for a broad overview of some of the key issues associated with medical malpractice.

About one-third of the medical malpractice insurance claims closed in Maine, Missouri and Nevada resulted in a payout.  In Illinois about 12 percent of closed claims ended in a payout.

Few medical malpractice insurance claims produced payouts that exceeded $1 million.  Less than 10 percent of the claims in Florida, Maine, Missouri and Nevada had payouts of $1 million or more.  In Florida, Maine and Missouri, about two-thirds of the claims were closed with insurance payouts of less than $250,000.