Medical Malpractice Claims Down, Payouts Up: Study

The frequency of medical malpractice claims has dropped substantially, but average case management expenses and indemnity payments continue to rise, according to a report. The rate of medical professional liability claims declined 27% from 5.1 cases per 100 physicians to 3.7 cases from 2007 to 2016, according to a report issued on Tuesday by CRICO Strategies called Medical Malpractice in America: A 10-year Assessment with Insights that examines national trends in claims frequency, payment and root causes of preventable harm. The report analyzed events affecting 124,000 patients. “For the roughly one million physicians across the country, this trend signals a dramatic change in their risk of being named in an MPL case,” the report stated.