Medical malpractice payments were at their lowest level on record in 2011 by almost any measure. Specifically, both the number of malpractice payments made on behalf of doctors and the inflation-adjusted value of such payments were at their lowest levels since 1991, the earliest full year in which the government collected such data.
But, contrary to the promises of policymakers and leaders of physician groups who have spent the past two decades championing efforts to restrict patients’ legal rights, there is no evidence that patients have received any benefits in exchange for ceding their legal remedies. Instead, the evidence suggests that litigation restrictions have suppressed meritorious claims, forcing malpractice victims and ordinary patients to absorb the costs of treating injuries caused by uncompensated medical errors.
The Number of Malpractice Payments on Behalf of Doctors in 2011 Was the Lowest on Record. The number of malpractice payments made on behalf of physicians fell for the eighth consecutive year in 2011, plummeting to the lowest total since the creation of the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), which has tracked medical malpractice payments since the fall of 1990.
The Inflation-Adjusted Total Value of Payments Made on Behalf of Doctors in 2011 Was the Lowest on Record. The cumulative value of malpractice payments in 2011 was the lowest in the history of the NPDB if adjusted for inflation by either the consumer price index (CPI) or the medical services index. Even in unadjusted dollars, payments fell for the eighth straight year in 2011 and were at their lowest level since 1998.
Medical Malpractice Payments’ Share of the Nation’s Total Healthcare Bill Was the Lowest on Record in 2011. Medical malpractice payments on behalf of doctors accounted for just 0.12 percent of national healthcare costs last year.
Total Costs for Medical Malpractice Litigation, as Measured By Liability Insurance Premiums Paid by Doctors and Hospitals, Were the Lowest in 2010 Since NPDB Data Collection Began. Liability insurance premiums provide a broad estimate of malpractice litigation costs. Besides payments to victims, they cover litigation defense costs, liability insurers’ profits, and insurers’ administrative costs. Such costs fell in 2010 to just 0.36 of 1 percent of national healthcare expenditures. (Note: This comparison uses 2010 data because 2011 liability insurance data are not yet available.)
Four-Fifths of Medical Malpractice Awards Compensate for Death, Catastrophic Harms or Serious Permanent Injuries. Despite suggestions by those seeking to reduce patients’ legal rights that medical malpractice lawsuits are largely “frivolous,” the vast majority of payments compensate for extremely serious harms. Four-fifths (80 percent) of the money paid for medical negligence in 2011 compensated victims or their surviving family members for harms defined by the NPDB as significant permanent injuries; major permanent injuries; quadriplegia, brain damage, or injuries requiring lifelong care; or death. The latter two categories (quadriplegia, brain damage, or injuries requiring lifelong care; and death) accounted for 44 percent of the dollars spent to compensate victims of medical malpractice
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